The first half of games for the Bruins officially is in the books, and despite a loss Thursday night, they should be pretty happy with where they stand.
Boston is 32-5-4 through its first 41 games, good for the NHL’s best record. The Bruins also lead the way with an .829 point percentage, 2.15 goals against per game and have the best penalty kill at 86.1%.
The point percentage earned Jim Montgomery a nod to coach the Atlantic Division team at the NHL All-Star Game next month.
“It’s been so fun, I think everybody in this group is having a great time,” Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo told reporters after Thursday’s 3-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken. “It’s pretty impressive what we have been able to do, but we’re keeping our focus on certain things, like we talk about with our process and we talk about focusing on the day-to-day and our process, and that’s what got us to this point so hopefully it will continue to carry us.”
The Bruins faced a slew of questions heading into the 2022-23 season, including how Boston would adapt to its new head coach and how it would fare without Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk to begin the season.
We’re not sure if anyone saw this kind of start coming, but the Bruins did much more than just keep their heads above water while some of their core players were out. Even when Derek Forbort — who’s been a force on the penalty kill — missed a month with a broken finger, they found ways to win.
Th B’s had several thrilling comebacks in which they went into the third period down to their opponent and still came out on top.
The Bruins are getting the most out of their players, too. David Pastrnak is on a 60-goal pace, Marchand has 37 points in 33 games and still isn’t where he wants to be, Nick Foligno and Trent Frederic have done a complete 180, and contributions are coming from up and down the lineup.
The goaltending also has been spectacular. Linus Ullmark, who was named to the Atlantic Division All-Star team for the first time in his career, leads the NHL in save percentage and goals against and is a threat to win the Vezina Trophy, while Jeremy Swayman, who started off the season slow and dealt with a lower-body injury, appears to have found a groove between the pipes.
Of course, the biggest thing for the Bruins will be to remain healthy. Jake DeBrusk is on long-term injured reserve, and there have been other injuries Boston has had to overcome. It hasn’t been a problem, but the healthier the B’s are — especially with the Stanley Cup playoffs approaching faster than we think — the bigger the threat they’ll be.
The Bruins look to get back into the win column Saturday night when they continue their homestand against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET.
