Bruins Not Quite Up to Last Year’s Pace After 60 Games

With just two months remaining in the season, the Bruins are on a mission to advance in the Eastern Conference race. After fighting their way back into the seventh  spot, we’re starting to see a glimpse of last year’s squad. They have a bounce in their step again, and confidence has resurfaced.

As the March 3 trade deadline approaches, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has some tough decisions on his plate. With the team’s offensive play being the hot topic all season long, here’s a look at where the Bruins stand through 60 games in comparison to last year’s squad at the same point.

2009-10						2008-09
Record and Stats Through 60 Games: (Feb. 13, 2010)						Record and Stats Through 60 Games (Feb. 22, 2009)
27-22-11-65						40-12-08-88
	GP	G	A	P			G	A	P
Patrice Bergeron	54	12	25	37		Marc Savard	21	44	65
Zdeno Chara	60	5	28	33		David Krejci	20	39	59
Marc Savard	37	9	22	31		Phil Kessel	25	20	45
Blake Wheeler	60	13	18	31		Dennis Wideman	12	28	40
David Krejci	57	11	20	31		Mark Recchi	13	26	39
Mark Recchi	60	12	18	30		Michael Ryder	19	17	36
Marco Sturm	54	18	10	28		Zdeno Chara	14	21	35
Derek Morris	57	3	22	25		Blake Wheeler	17	18	35
Michael Ryder	60	15	10	25		Milan Lucic	13	20	33
Dennis Wideman	54	3	16	19		Chuck Kobasew	12	16	28
Daniel Paille	55	9	9	18		Patrice Bergeron	5	19	24
Steve Begin	55	3	9	12		P.J. Axelsson	4	17	21
Matt Hunwick	57	6	6	12		Matt Hunwick	3	12	15
Milan Lucic	28	5	5	10		Stephane Yelle	6	9	15
Johnny Boychuk	31	2	7	9		Marco Sturm	7	6	13
Byron Bitz	45	4	5	9		Andrew Ference	1	11	12
Shawn Thornton	56	1	7	8		Shane Hnidy	3	9	12
Andrew Ference	46	0	7	7		Mark Stuart	4	6	10
Vladimir Sobotka	43	4	3	7		Shawn Thornton	5	4	9
Miroslav Satan	18	3	3	6		Aaron Ward	1	6	7
Mark Stuart	39	2	2	4		Vladimir Sobotka	1	3	4
Adam McQuaid	15	1	0	1		Martin St Pierre	2	2	4
Brad Marchand	12	0	1	1		Byron Bitz	1	2	3
Guillaume Lefebvre	1	0	0	0		Johnny Boychuk	0	0	0
Drew Larman	4	0	0	0		Mikko Lehtonen	0	0	0
Andy Wozniewski	2	0	0	0
Mikko Lehtonen	1	0	0	0

There’s no question the Bruins have some offensive weapons on their roster. Five players currently on the team also finished last year with 20-plus goal seasons.

But the team also has had its fair of struggles.

Every team is bound to face a roadblock at one point or another. How they rebound from adversity is a truer sign of character, and the B’s have responded with a vengeance. We’ve definitely seen a different squad. They couldn’t have created a more ideal situation leading into the break. The team can resume play in March fresh, refocused and riding a four-game winning streak. This resurgence could be the turning point of the season.

Even with only seven games in February, the Bruins’ offensive production has shown improvement, with key players starting to heat up. The closer they can come to reaching last year’s stats, the better their chances will be in the playoffs.

In January and February, the Bruins recorded three or more goals in five of their seven wins. When they were held to two goals or less per game, they lost 12 of 14. To break it down even further, here’s a line-by-line look at the Bruins in their seven games this month:

Forwards
Daniel Paille–Marc Savard–Miroslav Satan    3-9-12
Marco Sturm–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi    4-5-9
Blake Wheeler–David Krejci–Michael Ryder    6-4-10
Milan Lucic–Steve Begin–Shawn Thornton    2-0-2

Defensemen
Zdeno Chara—Derek Morris    1-7-8       
Matt Hunwick—Dennis Wideman   0-4-4
Andrew Ference–Adam McQuaid   1-2-3

There are some positive signs on offense, and the return of the Bruins’ Olympians also should work in their favor when play resumes after the break. The experience and energy of the Games could filter through the squad and give the Bruins the spark they need to keep rolling.

While the team enjoys some down time, you can be sure that Chiarelli is scrutinizing the offensive totals. What will influence his decisions more at the deadline — banking on the continuation of his team’s recent play or closing the gap between last year’s numbers?