The Boston Bruins have been fortunate to have arguably the all-time best defensive forward in NHL history -- Patrice Bergeron.
With five Selke's and undoubtedly his sixth this summer, Bergeron exemplifies what it means to be a three-zone forward. But what gets lost is the play down the middle by the other centers donning the Spoked-B. David Krejci, Charlie Coyle and Tomas Nosek have all provided depth at center, but the group's unsung hero is Nosek.
The Czech Republic native is 59.3% in faceoffs. Bergeron is at 61%. Granted, Nosek has taken 597 faceoffs to Bergeron's 1697, but 59.3% is still an effective number from the dot.
As one of the leading penalty killers on the team, Nosek is 54.8% while the Bruins' opponents are on the man advantage, which is higher than Bergeron's 5.35%.
Quietly, this season, Nosek has laced up his skates and done his job for the Bruins. He's a plus-seven and has 16 points while averaging 12 minutes of ice time in 65 games. And when the Black and Gold captured the all-time points record in a single season, he reached his own milestone - 100 career points.
"It felt pretty good. It's not happening very often, so try to enjoy the moment," Nosek told reporters on NESN's postgame coverage. "Now it's behind me, and our focus is on the next game and then the big picture."
Regardless of the individual milestone Nosek reached or the numerous records the Bruins have broken, the ultimate goal is winning the Stanley Cup.
"I don't like to talk about what it means now, but if we don't go all the way, then it means nothing," Nosek said. "I know when you get older, (you) probably realize we are something special."
The Bruins still don't know who they will face in the first round because the Wild Card race is still up in the air in the East. The Florida Panthers have clinched one of the spots, but only one point separates the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins didn't help their own cause when they lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Therefore, the Islanders can clinch the final spot with one point versus the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night.
