Early Season Bruins Review

The Bruins are 5-4-0 thru the first nine games of the season. The team’s current points leader, Brad Marchand, has four goals on 12 points and is tied with linemate Patrice Bergeron for the team lead in goals. 

Forwards

The forward group has been decent to start the season. Some players have had their struggles to start the season, and some have had excellent starts. If we look at each line combination separately, the top line has had a solid start to the season. This start stems from the previously mentioned strong goal performances from the likes of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. The primary difference between these two is Marchand has scored over multiple games while Bergeron scored all four goals in one game against the Detroit Red Wings, putting up a powerplay hat trick. Pastrnak has scored three goals and is tied for 3rd in team scoring. The second line has had a relatively slow start. This slow start is likely because Charlie Coyle is adapting to his new role as the second-line center, albeit I think he’s adapting quickly. Taylor Hall and Coyle have three goals so far, and Craig Smith has only played in five games this season and has yet to register a point. The Bottom six has been decent considering the amount of injures in the bottom six to start the season.

Defense

Charlie McAvoy and Derek Forbort have seemed to become the top pair for the Bruins. Grzelyck has slotted into the second pairing with Brandon Carlo, pushing Mike Reilly down to the third pair with Connor Clifton. Team defense has not been the strongest suit of the Bruins early season, leaving goaltending out to dry with an abundance of turnovers and high-danger scoring chances.

Goaltending

Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have had their good moments and their bad moments. Swayman currently has a record of 2-2-0 with a save percentage of .900 and a goals-against-average of 2.28. Ullmark has a record of 3-1-0 with a SV% of .927 and a GAA of 2.23. Both goalies have been alright to start the season, and both have had bad games, but I don’t see a need to panic. Swaymans worst game has been the game he played versus Philadelphia, in which he allowed five goals on 24 shots and had a SV% of .792. Ullmark’s worst game was against the Maple Leafs, where he allowed four goals on 35 shots and had a SV% of .886.

Special Teams

The Bruins currently have the 21st ranked penalty kill with a PK% of 75.9 and currently have the 10th best power play in the league with a PP% of 25. The second penalty-killing unit has had to change due to an injury to Nick Foligno, who was meant to be on the second unit with Erik Haula. Now Haula has been spending time with Jake Debrusk and Tomas Nosek on that second unit. The PK% should go up back to what it’s expected to be once Foligno is back from injury. The power play has been a bit down with David Pastrnak not getting off his one-timers, but as with most things, that will likely turn around.