The Boston Bruins both overachieved and choked last year. Many of you are probably thinking, “How can that happen?” We saw Tuukka Rask unseat the former Vezina Award winner, Tim Thomas. I will say that not many people expected the Boston Bruins to reach the playoffs given their laundry list of injuries. Many predicted they would beat the favored Buffalo Sabres in the first round, especially without Marc Savard. Savard did end up playing against the Flyers, but here’s where the choke job came. The Bruins took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series against the Philadelphia Flyers and lost four in a row. They could have faced the 8th-seeded Canadiens in the conference finals, which would have been awesome due to the long history between the two clubs. Now that I have given a brief recap of last year, let’s talk about this upcoming season.
The Boston Bruins are favored by many to win the Northeast Division, as they’re healthy with the exception of Savard, who is experiencing post-concussion symptoms. The Bruins drafted the dynamic rookie stud Tyler Seguin, who should make an impact right away whether he lines up at left wing or center. They acquired Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell for Dennis Wideman, the 15th overall pick (dealt to LA, who took defenceman Derek Forbort), and their 3rd-round pick for 2011. Time will tell if it’s a good deal for Boston, but one thing is certain: they needed offense and they got a proven player. The Calgary Flames were the only team in the NHL last year to score fewer goals. Milan Lucic (missed 32 games) should be healthy for the season, and his presence was missed.
Projected Lineup
Center: Patrice Begeron (just received a 3-year, $15M extension), David Krejci, Tyler Seguin, and Marc Savard if he can come back.
Left Wing: Milan Lucic, Blake Wheeler, Daniel Paille, Shawn Thornton, and Marco Sturm when he comes back.
Right Wing: Nathan Horton, Mark Recchi, Michael Ryder, and Jordan Caron.
Defence: the imposing Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuck, Andrew Ferrence, Matt Hunwick, and Mark Stuart.
In Net: Tuukka Rask, Tim Thomas, and Nolan Schaefer.
Outlook
The Bruins should improve on their horrible offensive output from a year ago while continuing to play outstanding defense. I expect Tuukka Rask to have a fantastic season, and he does have the ability to win games on his own. Tim Thomas seems motivated to try to take the job back, but I don’t see that happening. I see the Bruins winning the Northeast Division and grabbing the #3 seed. They’ll likely win the first round of the playoffs and could go to the Eastern Conference Finals. There are too many variables to go into detail right now, so I’ll wait until the playoffs start to analyze further.
