In an injury-riddled season, the Boston Bruins have found a way to stay in the playoff hunt in a strong Eastern Conference.
You can really only describe the 1st half of the season as a success for the Boston Bruins.
Boston has had a tumultuous season, to say the least. The team has dealt with a boatload of injuries and some inconsistent goaltending.
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That is usually a combination that leads to being at the bottom of the standings. The fact that Boston is in the playoff hunt is a minor miracle.
The Bruins didn’t just lose 4th liners either. They lost major parts of their lineup such as Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara.
The Bruins currently have a 27-17-5 record. This puts them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.
In the NHL it really doesn’t matter what seed you are. In playoff hockey, anything is possible.
Things are on the up and up in Boston. We just got to see David Pastrnak strut his stuff down in San Jose for the All-Star game. Pasta has been one of the Bruins best players so far this season.
The Atlantic division struggled in the game but in the skills competition, Pastrnak took home the crown in the Accuracy competition.
If you are in a position to make the playoffs at this point there is a good chance that you can only improve your spot. Teams have shown who they are and if they are going to be buyer’s or sellers at the deadline.
So let’s dive into how the Boston Bruins are doing this season.
1. An unbalanced offense
The Boston Bruins have been putting on a scoring clinic this season. The issue is that it is mostly coming from one line.
Boston’s first line has been one of the best in the league. David Pastrnak leads the team in scoring with 27 goals and 29 assists while Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron have combined for 33 goals and 61 assists.
The Bruins have still gotten some scoring from other players such as David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk, but after that it is a whole lot of nothing.
Boston needs to get some more consistent scoring from the bottom 6. I’m not asking for a point per game, but after the above players, Sean Kuraly is the next best scorer with 6 goals and 8 assists.
This is why we may see the Bruins be active during the trade deadline. If Boston can bring in a goal scorer they would be a serious contender for the Stanley Cup.
2. Surprisingly good defense
I have been impressed with the Boston Bruins defensive unit this season. Even when ravaged by injuries they did a great job in their own zone.
There has been one player that has done rather well. Matt Grzelcyk has been one of Boston’s best defenders this season.
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Grzelcyk has been a quality defender and hasn’t made as many mistakes as he did in his rookie season. Don’t worry Grzelcyk is still scoring as well. He has a goal and 12 assists this season.
Boston has been sufficient in their own zone and hasn’t given their goaltenders a lot of excuses when a puck goes in. Occasionally they will have a rough play, but it’s hard to expect perfection when you are going up against such talented goal scorers.
If there is one player I want to see improve it is Charlie McAvoy. After a great rookie season, McAvoy has struggled this year. He has had to deal with a ton of injuries, but he hasn’t been scoring like he usually does as well.
Hopefully the 2nd half of the season we will see McAvoy lighting the lamp a lot more.
3. Inconsistent goaltending
The Boston Bruins have gotten some great goaltending but not consistently. As soon as one goaltender starts to get going, the other plays terrible.
Tuukka Rask struggled mightily early on, but Jaroslav Halak saved the day. Then once Rask figured things out, Halak began to play poorly.
Still, Halak and Rask have very similar stats. Tuukka has a 14-8-3 record with a .919 save percentage and a 2.43 goals against average. Halak has a record of 24-13-9 with a .919 save percentage and a 2.47 goals against average. You can’t get any closer than that.
Jaroslav Halak will really have to step up in the coming weeks. Tuukka Rask was just put on the injured reserve so Halak will be the starting goaltender. After a period of poor play, I hope to see Halak do much better between the pipes.
The Bruins are back in action on Tuesday night. Hockey is finally back!