2015-16 record: 42-31-9 (93 points)
Missed the playoffs
Captain: Zdeno Chara
Another season of just missing out on the playoffs for the Bruins happened, and in rather embarrasing fashion, as they were given a beating at the hands of an Ottawa team that was eliminated a week earlier. Despite another playoff-free spring, the Bruins decided to keep Claude Julien on as head coach. He will be entering the season with the best center depth he's ever had as the Bruins coach, but questions abound on the blue line and in goal do remain.
Up front, despite losing Loui Eriksson to free agency, they did pick up David Backes, who figures to slot in as the third line center at worst. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci hold down the top two spots in the middle, and Brad Marchand set career highs in goals, though he does have a little work in keeping out of trouble, as he missed a couple of games due to suspension. It's going to be a by-committee approach as far as offense beyond those four, and if anyone has to step up, it must be the young players, particularly Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak, who are the best they have that are under 25 right now. Defensively, what was a strength when they were winning the Stanley Cup five years ago is now suddenly a major question mark. Zdeno Chara is still their best player there, but he's also nearing 40, and he's not the player he was even during that Stanley Cup run. Torey Krug is clearly the second best player there, but after that, look out below. Adam McQuaid can't stay healthy, Joe Morrow still needs to prove himself, and Colin and Kevan Miller haven't locked up regular NHL duty yet. In goal, Tuukka Rask has seen his number take a dive, as the 2.56 GAA represents a spike from the 2.00 GAA of 2013. Part of the problem has been the reluctance to use the backup, as Anton Khudobin returns to the Bruins after three years away. In that time, Niklas Svedberg, Chad Johnson, and Jonas Gustavsson have kept the backup seat warm, to little success. Last year's numbers were also an indication of an unstable blue line, that in large part due to injuries, never really established itself, and Rask figures to have to compensate for it once again. At the very least, special teams isn't a worry, as the power play ranked in the top ten while the penalty kill finished just outside the top ten.
Prediction: 5th in the Atlantic Division
The Bruins aren't quite bad enough to be in the Nolan Patrick sweepstakes next June, but they are also not quite good enough to get back into Stanley Cup contention. Until they stabilize the blue line, it will be up to the front lines and goaltending to go beyond their norms to succeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment