The Bruins are off to an 8-1-0 start, their best start through their first nine games in franchise history.
But they're not getting complacent.
Boston won its fifth straight game Friday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets by way of a 4-0 shutout. Not only was it a nice road win for the B's, but it also was on the second night of a back-to-back without Brad Marchand and David Krejci.
Even though there isn't too much to complain about, the Bruins know they need to keep up this type of play throughout the season in order to be successful.
"It's a great start. I don't know if a lot of people expected us to have the record that we have now. But it doesn't matter," Charlie Coyle, who scored his second goal in as many games Friday, told reporters at Nationwide Arena. "We know what's in here, the guys we have, the guys that can fill in, and take responsibility. That's a great sign for a team with a few key guys out.
"We're pretty happy but we want to keep pushing here. We're never satisfied. This doesn't get us in the playoffs, this doesn't give us a championship. It's a good start, yeah, but we've got to keep pushing and playing the right way. I think that's why we're getting success."
Everything just seems to be clicking for the Bruins between offense, defense and goaltending. Even after Jeremy Swayman struggled in his first two starts, he was able to work on what went wrong and turn in a solid performance Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings.
The next-man-up mentality clearly is there and head coach Jim Montgomery's messaging night in and night out really seems to be getting through to his new team.
The Bruins now enjoy a weekend off before returning to action Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck drop from PPG Paints Arena is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
