Last night’s Bruins game against the Penguins seemed like the first time in what feels like forever the Bruins really needed all hands on deck to pull off the win, and they were able to do just that.
After Boston took an early 3-0 lead thanks to goals from DeBrusk, Marchand, and the league’s leading goal scorer, Mr. David Pastrnak himself, the Penguins, who previously lost their last 4 of 6 games, showed signs of life in the second period with 4 goals, stealing the lead from the B’s. Though Bruce Cassidy himself said it certainly was not the team’s best game they’ve played, in dominant fashion, the Bruins shot back with 3 unanswered goals in the 3rd period, finishing off the job with an empty-netter by St. Patrice with 13 seconds left, because a one-goal lead against the goofy ol’ Penguins just wasn’t enough.
I mean, what a season so far for these studs. Though they’re second in the NHL record-wise to the Capitals who have played 2 more games than the Bruins, the Bruins continue to rank number one at the top of every journalist’s power rankings week in and week out, and for good reason. You know when you can just feel that everything is clicking for a team? That’s the feel I get watching this 2019-2020 Bruins team. Sure it’s still early, but if anything that only makes them even more of a threat to the rest of the league. The Bruins’ have the 3rd best offense in the league, with an average of 3.71 goals per game, 1st in defense, allowing an average of 2.14 goals per game, they’re 1st on the power play with a 30.61 PP%, and 9th in penalty kills with an 86.5 PK%.
Offensively they without a doubt have the best top line in hockey. David Pastrnak isn’t just an incredibly well-dressed handsome Czech man; he’s an absolute FORCE who has taken the league by storm. The Hockey News ranked him back in September prior to the start of the season as the 18th best player in the NHL, and I can only imagine whoever came up with those rankings is probably hiding his face right now (I’m not serious of course, how was he supposed to predict that Pasta would be on track for like, a 100 goal season?). For real though, it feels like the guy is going to score 50 goals by January, which is hilarious because last January he hit 25 goals on January 3rd, officially putting him on pace for the franchise’s first 50-goal season in 25 years. While he fell short by 12, it’s now November 5th and he’s already at 14 goals, number one in the entire league. I think it’s time we change that phrase “nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes,” to “nothing can be said to be certain except death, taxes, and David Pastrnak scoring on the power play.” Not far behind Pasta with the second most goals in the league is fellow liney Brad Marchand. There’s simply no way to understate the season Marchand is off to so far. 10 goals, two 5-point games in his last four, a career-best 13-game point streak, and a career-high 12-game assist streak. Marchand too is having the season of his life, and it’s only November 5th, folks. I cannot stress that enough. IT IS ONLY NOVEMBER 5TH! As if those two weren’t unfair enough? YOU’VE GOT FRIGGIN PATRICE BERGERON ON YOUR TOP LINE. Puck. Line. Jesus. We are so spoiled it’s insane.
With a second line of Krejci, who’s looked in his element since his return, DeBrusk, who’s starting to show signs of life once again, and Heinen, you’ve got to think that once DeBrusk reaches the star power we know he’s capable of, that is one lethal weapon of a second line. Though at the moment the third and fourth lines have been riddled with various injuries between players like Ritchie and Backes, Sean Kuraly said it best back on October 24th when speaking to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald what makes the Bruins’ game so good this year. “I think expectations for us [the fourth line] are a little higher, we’re not just expected to go out and play defense, we’re expected to contribute every now and again. I think it’s taken a little bit of time to find my way early in the year here, but I think it’s something that just builds and builds…the first line is doing most of the scoring, but we’re getting some secondary scoring now. We saw last year that the team relies on us sometimes and we’ve got to be a piece that helps push the game in our direction as often as possible.” With a fourth line that’s growingly becoming more and more aggressive offensively, and a third line in which Charlie Coyle and Brett Ritchie have seemed to compliment one another quite nicely so far, how this team develops offensively from top to bottom in the next couple months is going to be a real treat for Boston fans (pending injuries, of course).
While I could rave about the B’s top line for hours, with the third best offense in the league, it almost seems like a cheat code that we’ve got Tuukka Rask in goal to help cement us in the #1 spot for best defense in the league. Rask himself is #1 in every category for a goaltender. He’s got a GAA of 1.49 and a .949 save percentage. He’s got 7 wins and no regulation losses. His one and only overtime loss came against the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 17th, allowing 3 goals in the entire game. Pretty, pretty good. Backup goalie Jaroslav Halak has been equally impressive in his own right this season, with 4 wins, 1 regulation loss against the also powerful Colorado Avalanche, and 1 overtime loss to the Leafs on October 19th, which though was tough to see, the Bruins quickly made up for the following game at home against the Leafs with a 4-2 win. Of course it helps when you’ve got perhaps the most dynamic defensive duo of Zdeno Chara, who will be celebrating his 1,500th game tonight, and 21-year old Charlie McAvoy, who both have helped hold down the fort with 27 blocked shots each so far this season. There really has not been a weak spot to the Bruins’ defense. Krug and Carlo continue to be both a defensive threat, and a growing offensive threat as well, Krug helping tie up the game last night in the third period. The chemistry between Grzelcyk and Clifton help rounds out the best defense in the league.
Perhaps the only true disadvantage for the Bruins in tonight’s matchup against the Montreal Canadiens is the fact they aren’t as well-rested as the Habs. After an intense battle against the Penguins last night at home, the Bruins hopped on a plane to Montreal immediately after for a quick overnight trip while the Habs rested Monday. That’s about it. Despite a 4-2-2 record on the road, the Habs are 3-3 at home. Much of their game is dependent upon goalie Carey Price, who like the Habs as a whole, has been mediocre at best. When he’s on one, he’s one of the best. However unlike Rask, Price lacks consistency. It all depends on what version of Price you have in net tonight. He’s got a GAA of 2.64 and a save percentage of .915, ranking him at 26th in the league. As if the stats on paper didn’t show that this game certainly leans in the Bruins’ favor, the fact the Bruins have won their last 5 games at Bell Centre definitely helps their case. Of course, that doesn’t mean to say the Habs won’t be bringing their A-game. And by “A-game” I mean, some rough and intense play. Despite the Habs’ shortcomings the last few years, the rivalry between these two teams is one of the best in sports and is always guaranteed to be quite the show.
Any fear of a Stanley Cup hangover is certainly out of the picture now. The wheels just keep on turning for the Boston Bruins, and it’ll be interesting to see how teams respond to this ever-improving force of a team.
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