Boston Bruins: 3 players who need to step up in 2021-22 NHL season
By Ryan Whitley
Boston Bruins who need to step up: The goalies
I fully admit that I’m cheating here by picking a position instead of a specific player.
For the first time in almost a decade, the Boston Bruins will not be able to lean on Tuukka Rask to erase their defensive mistakes. And though many Bruins fans were ready to kick Rask to the curb years ago and think the B’s will be fine this year, nothing is guaranteed in the NHL.
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Yes, Jeremy Swayman looked very good at the end of last year. But we’ve seen plenty of rookie goaltenders come in, light the world on fire, and fade quickly in the following years. Remember Jordan Binnington? Two years ago he stole the Stanley Cup, and this past year he struggled to an 18-14 record with a 2.56 GAA. Not terrible, but certainly nothing spectacular either.
Linus Ullmark is closer to a sure thing in my eyes, but I still see question marks with him. For the first time, he’s going to be playing for a team with actual expectations after years stuck on the Buffalo Sabres.
How will he respond to that? Plenty of goalies can be respectable on a team that people don’t take seriously, but it’s much more difficult to be a star on a team that everyone has high hopes for.
If there is one single thing that’s most important to making a deep playoff run in the NHL, it’s having a hot goalie going for you. While the Bruins will likely be fine in the regular season, it remains to be seen how either of these guys will handle pressure games down the stretch and in the playoffs.
In the end, that’s what’s going to define this Boston Bruins season. If one of their new goalies steps up and becomes THE guy, this team could be going somewhere. But if both play just okay, the B’s are likely headed for another second round burnout.
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The upcoming 2021-22 NHL season is going to be one of the more interesting in recent Boston Bruins history due to the relatively large number of questions the team still faces. To make this season one to remember, they’ll be counting on these guys to step up and elevate their play to new levels.