Boston Bruins: The Junk Drawer

The junk drawer is where you throw everything you can’t find a place for, so these articles going forward will have a little of everything: Some statistics, some prospects, some opinions, some information, no swearing (you’re welcome, John!), and anything else Bruins related I feel like you all need to know. If there is ever anything you’d like to see appear in The Junk Drawer, just let me know in the comments.

Let’s Dive In…

Through 15 games, the Boston Bruins are a .500 team. Their offense isn’t scoring, and their defense has been porous. The special teams have been a problem, and the Bruins are committing minor penalties at an alarming rate. With all that being said, you would think the Bruins would be at the bottom of the standings, BUT Boston has somehow found ways to win games. Hopefully, the Bruins will start to play better and will start to string some wins together.

Stats:

Here are Boston’s league ranks after the team’s first fifteen games (7-7-1):
Goals For: 40 (21st)
Goals Against: 52 (26th)
Assists: 65 (26th)
Shooting Percentage: 9.11% (26th)
Power Play Percentage: 12.5% (30th)
Penalty Kill Percentage: 75.4% (24th)
Penalty Minutes: 191 (32nd)

Looking at the stats, it is all concerning. The Bruins are in the bottom ten in almost every meaningful category. Boston should rebound, they’re not as bad as the numbers are showing. The Bruins Penalty Kill is usually a top-ten unit and the power play although not a top unit in the league has the talent to be much better than they’ve shown. If Boston can stay out of the penalty box, and that’s a HUGE if, they should be able to turn their mediocre season around.

News & Notes:

Per Ty Anderson, The Bruins have been shut out three times in 15 games this season. Boston had been shut out only three times in their previous 175 games.

David Pastrnak has a six-game goal-scoring drought, it’s his longest drought since the 2021-22 season, when the Czechia winger went nine games without a goal.

On a team with a -11 goal differential, Cole Koepke is a +11. The depth signing has been a huge boost to the Bruins forward group with 8 points (4g, 4a) in 11 games. Koepke recently moved up to the 3rd line with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic and scored a goal in their 4-3 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames.

After an off-season that saw Brad Marchand have three different surgeries, it took some time for the Bruins Captain to find his game. It seems Marchand has turned the corner with points (4g, 3a) in six of his last eight games.

Since the calendar turned to November, Charlie Coyle has turned into a different player. The Weymouth, MA native has a goal and an assist in four November games. Coyle’s underlying stats have been better, he’s been a plus player, and 60% on the dot after being a -8 and only 42.3% in the faceoff circle in October.

The Bruins have waived Riley Tufte and Max Jones to make room on the roster to sign former Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson. Johnson has been a reliable player throughout his career and is still finding his game after missing a month of the season while he waited to sign a contract.

Injury News:

Bruins Defenseman Andrew Peeke was injured against the Maple Leafs in a hit by Max Pacioretty on Tuesday night. Peeke is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

In the Minors:

Providence has started the season 7th place in the Atlantic Division at 4-6-0-0. Vinny Lettieri is leading the club in scoring with 8 points (6g, 2a) in 10 games. Jordan Oesterle leads all Providence defensemen with 7 points (3g, 4a) in seven games. Bruins’ Top Prospect, Fabian Lysell, has started slowly with only one goal and one assist in seven games.

Bruins Prospects In the NCAA:

A couple of Bruins prospects have had strong starts to their collegiate seasons:

2022 4th-round pick Dans Locmelis has had a strong start to the 2024-25 season with 9 points (1g, 8a) in nine games.

2024 1st-round pick Boston College Freshman Dean Letourneau has two points in his last three games as he adapts to the college game and a major jump in competition level. The 6-foot-7 Center has a long way to go but the high-end skill and potential is something Bruins fans should be excited about.

Week ahead:

November 12 at St. Louis Blues
November 14 at Dallas Stars
November 16 vs. St. Louis Blues

Season 4. Episode 14. West Coast Road Trip. – Bruins Benders Podcast

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1. Season 4. Episode 14. West Coast Road Trip. 41:21
2. Season 4. Episode 13. This Is Not the Sway 01:14:21
3. Season 4. Episode 12. Going Streaking! 55:26
4. Season 4. Episode 11. Have the Bruins Turned a Corner? 01:04:20
5. Season 4. Episode 10. Monty Out. Sacco In. 01:24:35