First Look: Boston Bruins
By
Caleigh Burchfield / Pittsburgh Penguins
The Bruins had the NHL's best record at 44-14-12 in the shortened campaign, earning the most points and wins in the league. As last year's Presidents' Trophy winners and Atlantic Division champions, Boston was a favorite to take home the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2011, but fell to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the Second Round of the playoffs.
Led by head coach Bruce Cassidy, Boston currently stands third in the East Division behind Washington and Pittsburgh with a 3-1-1 record, having most recently swept Philadelphia. Three of Boston's five games have gone into overtime this year, with two ending in a shootout.
They are having success despite being without David Pastrnak to start the season, as the superstar winger is in the process of recovering from offseason hip surgery. But he appears to be ahead of schedule, as he practiced with full contact for the first time on Monday. Cassidy said he doesn't anticipate Pastrnak playing against the Penguins this week, but that he will likely travel with the team for their road trip this weekend.
Boston also has a new-look blue line this season after Zdeno Chara signed with the Capitals. Chara had been the longest-tenured captain in the league prior to his move to Washington, holding the title for all of his 14 seasons in Boston. Taking over as Bruins captain is Patrice Bergeron, who has been with the organization since they drafted him 45th overall in 2003.
Here is their projected lineup…
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Jake DeBrusk
Nick Ritchie-David Krejci-Jack Studnicka
Trent Frederic-Charlie Coyle-Craig Smith
Anders Bjork-Sean Kuraly-Chris Wagner
Jeremy Lauzon-Charlie McAvoy
Connor Clifton-Brandon Carlo
Jakub Zboril-Kevan Miller
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
FORWARDS: Boston's offense got off to a slow start without Pastrnak, who tied Alex Ovechkin for the NHL lead with 48 goals last season, and his production. The Bruins didn't manage to score a 5-on-5 goal until the third period of their fourth game of the season on Thursday.
However, after a 6-1 victory over the Flyers on Saturday, it's safe to say they are beginning to heat up in that regard. Their top line has been particularly good, as Marchand, Bergeron and DeBrusk have combined for 14 points so far this season.
While there's certainly some other familiar faces in Boston's forward group, like veterans David Krejci and Charlie Coyle, there's some new, younger faces as well - most notably Frederic, 22, a first-round pick in 2016; and Studnicka, 21, their second-round pick in 2017.
"I know our coaches work with all our players, particularly our younger players," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said before the season. "Guys are getting their feet wet, they're finding their way."
Also new to the Bruins roster is Craig Smith. The Bruins signed the 31-year-old to a three-year contract this offseason to bring more depth to their roster. He had spent the previous nine seasons with Nashville after they drafted him in 2009, hitting the 20-goal mark four times.
DEFENSE:With Chara and Torey Krug - who scored 49 points (9G-40A) last season while quarterbacking the power play - both leaving in free agency, plus veteran John Moore out with a lower-body injury from training camp, Boston's blue line has changed significantly this year. Unfortunately for the injury-ridden Bruins, defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has also been out due to a lower-body injury of his own suffered in Thursday's game.
Cue Charlie McAvoy.
McAvoy, one of Boston's first-round draft picks in 2016, has taken over as the Bruins' No. 1 defenseman. He possesses similar offensive instincts to Krug, finishing last season with five goals to go along with career highs in assists (27) and points (32) in 67 games, and the Bruins are giving him a bigger role and more responsibility this season.
He's one of a number of young defenders on Boston's blue line. Jeremy Lauzon, drafted a year before McAvoy, has been playing alongside him on the top pair. This is the first time Lauzon has made the NHL roster out of training camp, as the defenseman went back-and-forth between Boston and the franchise's AHL team, the Providence Bruins, in the previous three seasons. Also coming out of Providence is fellow 23-year-old Jakub Zboril, who'll be playing his first full NHL season this year.
Assuming Grzelcyk is able to play tonight, he'll be back on a pairing with Brandon Carlo. Both are entering their fifth year with the Bruins after each posting career highs in assists and points last year.
GOALTENDERS:Back between the pipes is franchise veteran Tuukka Rask, now is in his 14th season with the Bruins.
The 33-year-old was voted a Vezina Trophy finalist last season as the best goalie in the NHL, leading the league with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage while going 26-8-6 in 41 games.
Boston has one of the best goalie tandems in the league, as Rask partnered with Jaroslav Halak to capture the William M. Jennings Trophy, awarded to the goaltenders allowing the fewest goals against in the NHL.
Halak showed just how valuable he is to the Bruins when he stepped up as their starting goaltender after Rask opted out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in August because of a medical emergency for one of his daughters.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Bruins' special teams have been some of the most successful in the league thus far.
Their power play stands at 7th in the NHL and first in the East Division. They have converted on 35.3% of their power-play opportunities and scored six goals. Boston's top power-play unit currently includes Ritchie, Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci and Grzelcyk.
Their penalty kill is equally impressive at fifth in the NHL and second in the East Division. The Bruins have been shorthanded 20 times in just five games, but have killed 90% of their penalties, allowing only two goals.
