How The Bruins Are Good Again

Last season was a season to remember for the Boston Bruins. They just completed a season where they set the record for most wins and points in a season. Sure, the season didn’t go how they wanted being upset by the Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. Regardless, it was still a great season for Boston, and looked like it was something they could build on.

However going into this season, the expectations for the Bruins were lower than expected. This is due to an offseason where they lost a lot of key pieces. This included Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Tyler Bertuzzi, Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, and Dmitry Orlov. These six were a major part of this Bruins team. Also, the pieces they brought in weren’t anything to get excited about. Guys like Milan Lucic, Morgan Geekie, and Kevin Shattenkirk. All low-risk high-reward options, but no one could live up to what they lost. Add this to natural regression, the Bruins were expected to take a major step back.

However, a little over a third of the way into the season, and the Bruins find themself towards the top again. They currently have 37 points, good enough for first place in the Atlantic division. They’re also tied with the Rangers for the most points in the NHL. This has got people asking: how can the Bruins be this good again?

An Unstoppable Goaltending Tandem

It’s one of the oldest adages in hockey; all you need is a good goaltender to be successful. Well, the Bruins don’t have just one good goaltender, they have two. Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman make up one of the best goaltending tandem this league has ever seen. Ullmark currently has an 8-3-1 record with a .918 save percentage and a 2.65 goals-against average. While Swayman has a 9-1-2 record with a .932 save percentage and a 2.08 goals-against average. Teams would kill to have just one goaltender putting up those numbers. However, the Bruins are lucky enough to have two of them.

Having two good goaltenders on your roster gives you a major advantage over the rest of the league. No matter what night it is, you’re going to have a great goaltender in the net. It’s hard to lose a game when the other team can’t score. On days when your offense is struggling, you can rely on these goaltenders to keep them in the game. Essentially, there is never going to be an off-game for the Bruins. You know a game where the team is a little banged up and it’s more about getting through the game. The Bruins don’t have to play games like that because they know that the talent in net gives them a chance to win.

Players Stepping Up On Offense

The number one question everyone had when Bergeron retired was what is this offense going to look like. For years, Bergeron has been the main piece of this offense. He was one of the best two-way forwards the league has ever seen. Someone the offense was able to rally around and improve everyone on the roster. The question was who was going to step up and fill the hole left by Bergeron. So far this season Pavel Zacha has filled that hole. He’s done a great job so far at the top center spot. He’s scored eight goals and eleven assists for nineteen points. Sure he’ll never be as good as Bergeron, but he’s filling the hole he left as much as possible.

It also helps that David Pastrnak is having another great start to the season. So far this season, he has 14 goals and 22 assists giving him 31 points. This should come as a surprise to no one because this is what he has done his entire career. Since entering the league in the 2014-15 season, he has arguably been one of the best forwards in the league. The way he has been able to step up and become the leader of this offense, only adds to the argument of him being one of the best forwards in the league.

Sure it’s still early in the season and a lot can change over these next few months. However, teams around the league should start to take notice of what the Bruins can do. Their ability to win no matter who is out there on the ice is something every team should strive for.

Thanks for reading! Credit for my feature image goes to Steve Babineau. You can find more NHL content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on X.