3 Studs (& 2 Duds) From the First Week of the Bruins' Season

The first week of the 2023-24 NHL season is in the books and the Boston Bruins have a perfect 2-0-0 record to show for it.

Considering how many experts expected this year's roster to take a step back following a flurry of offseason changes, the Beantown faithful have every reason to be happy about the solid start to the campaign.

The first week of action was filled with players stepping up to help deliver two consecutive wins. However, despite how good the vibes are at the moment, there were also a few Boston players who left much to be desired in the first pair of games.

With that in mind, here are three studs and two duds from the first week of the Bruins' 2023-24 campaign.

Bruins Studs and Duds in First Week of 2023-24 Season

Stud: David Pastrnak

I'll be the first to admit that I was concerned about David Pastrnak's production following David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron's retirements this summer. After all, the gift goal-scorer spent more minutes with the Boston fan favorites than any other linemates last season.

Fast forward to after the first week of the regular season and Pastrnak has already proven me wrong.

The Czech sniper has racked up three even-strength goals (including one game-winning marker) and an assist through four games. What's even more impressive is that he's accomplished that despite averaging fewer minutes (17:25) than he did last year (19:34).

Pastrnak is also tied for the seventh-best on-ice goal differential (plus-5) in the NHL. While that is a small sample size, it's also impressive given that his expected on-ice differential is supposed to only be plus-2.3, per Money Puck. In other words, the Bruins are scoring twice as much as they're expected to when the 27-year-old is on the ice.

Yes, there's still a ton of hockey left to be played. But if Pastrnak can keep up his play throughout the campaign, the report of the Bruins' death will have been greatly exaggerated.