The Bruins have kicked off 2023 on a high note as they continue to be the NHL’s best team through the first 40 games.
Boston is 4-0-0 in the new year and just concluded a sweep of its west coast road trip, amassing all six points despite being without Jake DeBrusk. The Bruins have scored 16 goals over their last four games and have outscored their opponents 16-6.
They’ll now have a few days off before returning to TD Garden on Thursday night to kick off a three-game homestand beginning with the Seattle Kraken.
Here are four takeaways from their last three games on the road.
David Pastrnak could reach unchartered territory
Pastrnak racked up seven goals — including a hat trick against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night — and an assist in the Bruins’ last four games to earn him the NHL’s First Star of the Week. He now has 32 goals on the season, behind only Connor McDavid (34) for the league lead. Pastrnak also now has six 30-goal seasons to his name at age 26.
“It will never get old. You’re scoring goals in the best league in the world. It’s not easy,” Pastrnak told reporters after Sunday’s win. “I will never take it for granted. It’s my job to score goals. It still makes you happy.”
The Bruins will hit the halfway mark of the 2022-23 season Thursday when they play their 41st game and Pastrnak has the opportunity to do something for the Bruins only done by Phil Esposito. The forward is on pace to score 66 goals and finish with 119 points. The Bruins have not had a 50-goal scorer since Cam Neely did so in 1993-94, though Pastrnak was on pace to do that before COVID-19 shortened the 2019-20 season and he finished with 48. Esposito is the only Bruin to score at least 60 goals in a season, and the 119 points would be the most since Adam Oates amassed 142 in 1992-93.
Pastrnak has shown no signs of slowing down and Bruins fans could witness something this year that hasn’t been done in quite some time.
Bruins goalie tandem is a force to be reckoned with
Linus Ullmark leads the NHL with a 1.87 goals-against average, .938 save percentage and 22 wins as he continues to put together a Vezina-worthy season. The second-year Bruin has carried the Black and Gold at times and made all but one start in the absence of Jeremy Swayman in November with a lower-body injury. Swayman did struggle at times between the pipes, but since has appeared to return to form to give the Bruins two very capable goalies.
Swayman now is 9-3-3 on the season with a 2.51 GAA and a .905 save percentage. His latest strong showing came Sunday with a 28-save performance against Anaheim in the Bruins’ 7-1 victory. The second-year goalie clearly has been more comfortable of late and, as Boston.com’s Conor Ryan notes, Swaymann is 4-0-0 since debuting his Winter Classic pads.
Having two healthy goalies will be key to keep the Bruins on the track they have been all season, but will be especially important as the playoffs approach. If Boston can rely on Swayman, it will be able to rest Ullmark in order to have him sharp for what the Bruins hope to be a lengthy playoff run.
Trent Frederic continues strong season
Frederic has been a bit underrated this season, but that’s probably because of all the storylines surrounding the Bruins this season. The bottom-six forward potted the go-ahead and game-winning goal against the Los Angeles Kings in the eventual 5-2 win, setting a new career-high with nine.
“He’s got nine goals and they’re all five on five goals,” head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters. “It’s not easy to do in this league in the first half of the year.”
Frederic also dropped the gloves with Brendan Lemieux to really spark some life into the B’s.
“When he came up to me, I can’t ever say no to him,” Frederic told NESN’s Sophia Jurksztowicz after the game. “Not a big fan of him. So, every chance I get, I try to do it.”
With DeBrusk on long-term injured reserve and a few forwards struggling, Frederic staying consistent has been a big boost to the lineup.
Brad Marchand is unstoppable
Marchand did mention earlier this season that he’s been unhappy with his game, that he’s not 100% where he wants to be and that he still has another level to go — which is a scary thought given he had 21 points through his first 20 games after returning from double-hip surgery.
After the referees missed a blatant tripping call on Marchand against the Kings, the forward voiced his frustration and ended up with a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Marchand was seen smashing his stick and was visibly frustrated by the non-call then receiving a penalty of his own. The Bruins killed the penalty and Marchand channeled every emotion into helping the B’s win.
He amassed an assist on Pastrnak’s goal before making it 2-1 Bruins on a tough angle shot.
“The emotion that he gave our team after that, I felt that we were going to kill that off,” Montgomery told reporters after the win.
Marchand had a three-point game against the San Jose Sharks and had a goal in the win against the Ducks.
