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Breaking Down The Bruins Red Hot Start

The Boston Bruins are once again off to a red-hot start. They improved to 11-1-1 after defeating the New York Islanders 5-2 at TD Garden Thursday night.

Many thought they would regress due to the retirement of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. But so far, that hasn’t been the case. 


Defence and Goaltending

The strength of the team is their defence and goaltending. Through the first 23 games of their Centennial season, they have allowed just 25 goals, which is the best in the league. Five on five, they have only allowed 15 goals, which is also the best in the league. 

The structure of their defensive scheme is very apparent, as they often keep their opponents to the perimeter. This limits high-danger scoring chances.

When they have breakdowns, their goalies are there to shut the door. Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have a combined 1.92 GAA and a .938 SV%, leading the league on both.

In the goal differential category, the team is +18, which is currently tied for second place in the league. When it comes to five-on-five goal differential, they are +13, which stands alone at second in the league.  

Special Teams

The play of special teams is huge for the Bruins hot start. Boston’s penalty kill, led by long-time assistant Joe Sacco, has been shut down. They have allowed only four power-play goals, sitting at 92.2%, which is second in the league.

Sacco has been the architect behind the team’s penalty kill going back to the 2014-15 season. The Bruins have been a top-ten penalty-killing team eight times since then. 

The Power-play has not been as productive as they’d like it to be, but it’s hot as of late. Right now, it’s at 20.9%, which is 14th in the league. They have scored nine times on the man advantage. In their last three games, Boston has scored four power-play goals, including two against the Islanders.

How They Attack Offensively


Their offensive production is slowly coming along. Currently, they are tied for 12th in the league with 43 goals for. Five on five, they have 28 goals for, which is 13th in the league.

But in their last three games, they have scored a combined 12 goals. The offensive continuity is building, which is scary, considering they only have one regulation loss. 

Free Agent Signings

A big help the Bruins have gotten is the production from their free-agent signings. Kevin Shattenkirk has played a quietly sound and effective game on the back end.

Morgan Geekie, although out hurt right now, has been a solid checking winger who is on the second power-play unit. He’s also not afraid to go into the dirty areas.

Milan Lucic is also out right now on LTIR with an injury, but he is eligible to return on November 18th against the Montreal Canadiens. Lucic had looked good before he was injured, taking a shot off the ankle against the Los Angeles Kings. 

However, the biggest free agent contribution thus far has been from James van Riemsdyk. He has developed solid chemistry with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic.

The three combined for eighth points Thursday night against the Islanders. Van Riemsdyk has recorded four goals and six assists for ten points and is +4 through 13 games.

 The Centre Position 

This is one of the biggest keys to the Bruins hot start. Understandably, the biggest question mark for the Bruins coming into this season was at the center position. Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle were already pencilled in as the team’s top two centers. But the emergence of 2022 second-round pick Matt Poitras has given Boston exactly what they needed.

Poitras had an outstanding training camp, leading the team in points for the preseason. So far, he has been impressive for the most part, primarily in the third-line center role. He has played in all 13 games and has four goals and three assists for seven points with a plus-minus of +4. 

Furthermore, Coyle and Zacha have pulled their own weight, picking up the slack they would have to. Zacha has four goals, five assists for nine points, and is +5 through 13 games.

Coyle has five goals, including his first career hat trick, seven assists for 12 points and is +3 through 13 games. Both players are also a huge part of both special teams units.

Going Forward

Can the Bruins continue to play like this throughout the season? If they stick to their team game and philosophy, they will be a very tough team to play against every night. They also have the luxury of rolling out a number one goalie every night, which gives them a large advantage over other teams.

Main Photo: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports









 



 

 






 

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