Now that was an amazing turnaround by the Bruins after a not so good 2008 season. Unfortunately for the Bruins the ride ended in the second round after a game seven home ice overtime loss. That was a bitter pill to swallow since the Bruins were so dominant on their home ice having gone 29-6-6. With the same team intact and a solid nucleus of players with a good supporting cast, the Bruins should once again be favourites to win the Northeast division and battle for top spots in the Conference.
It took a season for the Bruins to get accustomed to Claude Julien’s coaching style, but when they did they were unstoppable as the whole team bought into team defense. A lot of credit also goes to Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli, who made moves that went under the radar but paid huge dividends in the end. The two notable steals were obtaining Blake Wheeler and Dennis Wideman.
A lot of the Bruins success came from their goaltending and Tim Thomas was a rock with his uneasy style of play. His 36 wins and 2.10 GAA were enough to earn the Vezina Trophy, and a nice contract. Unfortunately for the Bruins, they did lose Manny Fernandez who was supposed to be the number one goalie but injuries and strong play from Thomas spelled the end of his time in Boston. Fernandez is a better goalie than to be a back-up and had to leave Boston for his career. The Bruins do still have Tuukka Rask who has a lot of potential of one day becoming a starter, but right now is more than fit to be a solid number two behind Thomas.
With Thomas putting up solid numbers, the defense in front of him deserves a lot of praise as well led by Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara. The Bruins defense this season is more than capable of once again producing the league’s best defense, as they only allowed 196 goals all season.
The Bruins may not have household names on defense, but they get the job done. Offensively, the defense chipped in rather nicely, and leading the charge was Chara with 19 goals and 50 points. Matching that total point output was Blake Wheeler. With those two leading the defense, the Bruins are well off, especially with the strong depth they have.
Even for the future, the Bruins still have Mark Stuart and Matt Hunwick who played pivotal roles in shoring up the defense. The addition of Derek Morris will only help the Bruins as he brings plenty of veteran experience. Andrew Ference was a force on the blue line dishing out hits and mixing it up. Pretty much any pairing on the Bruins’ defense can match up with the oppositions’ best line.
Scoring came pretty easy to the Bruins as they were second in the league in goals for with 274. The Bruins like last season, will be able to roll with three different scoring lines each night. With their number one centre being under-rated Marc Savard who led the team in scoring with 88 points. Repeating those numbers should be no problem for Savard as he will have plenty of wingers to play with.
Another pleasant surprise came from rookie David Krejci who posted 73 points. He showed his strong versatility while playing as a number two centre or on the wing. The possibilities are endless for the Bruins on offense, especially when they have Phil Kessel another centre man that could also play the wing. He could’ve have had a higher goal total than his 36 if it weren’t for injuries.
On the wing position the Bruins are stacked there as well with Michael Ryder who scored 27 times, Blake Wheeler with 21 goals, Milan Lucic and Chuck Kobasew each with 17 and 21 goals respectively. These four should continue there strong rise playing with each other. One player that will be very dominant and could change a game with one hit or goal is Milan Lucic. In just one full season the city of Boston fell in love with this kid and already see a second coming of Cam Neely.
The Bruins offense was so dominant that they had ten players with ten or more goals and seven players with twenty or more goals. If the Bruins want to continue their strong scoring and get better, a healthy Marco Sturm and Patrice Bergeron would be huge boosts to an already good offense.
OVERALL-->THE BRUINS HAVE A SOLID CORE OF PLAYERS AND HAVE ALL BOUGHT INTO THEIR COACHES AND HAVE PLAYED SOME EXCELLENT HOCKEY. THE BRUINS SHOULD CONTINUE THEIR DOMINANCE FROM LAST SEASON AND BE A TOP 4 TEAM IN THE EAST.
POSITIVE--> GREAT NUCLEUS OF YOUNG TALENT THAT HAVE ALREADY PROVEN THEMSELVES. DEFENSE WAS THE BEST IN THE LEAGUE AND SHOULD BE IN THE TOP 5 THIS SEASON.
NEGATIVE--> NOT TOO MANY ON THIS TEAM, BUT PROBABLY COCKINESS, AND THE PLAYERS MAY EXPECT TO BE IN FIRST AGAIN AND LET LAST SEASONS BRILLIANCE GET TO THEIR HEADS. BOSTON IS AN ORIGINAL SIX CITY, SO THE MEDIA WILL BE HOT ON THE BRUINS AND THE PRESSURE WILL BE AT A HIGH.
X-FACTOR--> THERE A FEW OF THEM ON THIS TEAM, BUT THEIR CAPTAIN ZDENO CHARA IS A PIVOTAL PIECE TO THIS BRUINS TEAM, AND WHEN HE MISSED A FEW GAMES LAST SEASON, THE TEAM SANK. ANOTHER PLAYER THAT GETS DEARLY MISSED WHEN HE IS OUT IS PJ AXELSSON, WHO IS A CONSTANT PROFESSIONAL AND MEANS A LOT TO THE LOCKER ROOM.
SLEEPER PICK--> MARK STUART ON DEFENSE, LOOK FOR HIM TO HAVE A VERY GOOD OFFENSIVE SEASON.
PREDICTION--> THE BOSTON BRUINS WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS SEASON AND SHOULD WIN BETWEEN 45-50 GAMES. THE NORTHEAST DIVISION TITLE WILL BE THERE’S AT SEASON’S END.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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