Boston Bruins Disappoint in EA Sports NHL 16 Simulation
With the NHL season right around the corner, our friends over at GameSided did an entire simulation of the 2015-16 season using EA Sports’ NHL 16. While a simulation on a video game is far from the “end-all-be-all”, the Boston Bruins’ showing in this simulation is less than impressive.
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Before we get started on the particulars of the Bruins, GameSided let us in on how they did this simulation. “As is usually the case with simulations, there are a few limitations to the formula,” the author points out. “However, we’ve made all settings as realistic as possible in our attempt to determine a victor, and all of the game’s rosters are accurate as of the 27th of September.”
In the simulation, the Bruins finish the season 39-37-6, good for only a fifth place finish in the Atlantic Division. The Tampa Bay Lightning took home division crown at 41-27-14, followed by the Detroit Red Wings (44-31-7) and the Ottawa Senator (40-34-8). Here is what they had to say about the Bruins’ make-believe season:
"After a hectic off-season in which the Bruins made a series of roster moves, Boston missed out on the playoffs with a disappointing 84 points. Just two players managed to break the 20-goal barrier this year – Loui Eriksson and Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron was the star player for the Bruins, contributing with an extra 39 assists to bring his points total to 60 for the season, which resulted in him being awarded with the Frank J. Selke Trophy. Zdeno Chára finished on a plus minus of 17 – well above any of the other top points scorers in the lineup. Brad Marchand and David Krejčí also contributed with over 50 points each, but new additions Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes struggled to adapt.The Bruins also scouted a number of free agents, eventually adding Erik Cole and Sean Bergenheim to their lineup. Both enjoyed reasonable success throughout the season.Goaltending duties were spread out across three netminders, with Malcolm Subban being forced to play the majority of games (45) after an injury to Tuukka Rask early in the season. All three posted fairly average results in net, although Subban was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy for his efforts."
Basically, Bergeron was a star while Chara and Eriksson chipped in with impressive performances as well. An injury to Rask could be catastrophic to the Bruins this season, and this simulation seemed to back up that theory. All in all, an ugly showing by Boston hockey in this one.
Practices like these are always fun to step back and take a look at it. They mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, and that is a good thing when it comes to the Bruins. In case you were wondering, the Red Wings took home the Stanley Cup in this simulation, defeating the St. Louis Blues in six games.
Next: Bruins Behind the Times?