Since their cup win in 2011, the Bruins have been in the same cycle of seasons yearly. They will always over-perform in the regular season, as seen by last year’s record-breaking 135 points, but when it comes to the playoffs, they always seem to choke it away. Currently, the Bruins again come in with a load of talent, with guys like David Pastrnak and reigning Vezina winner Linus Ullmark returning. However, they also lost their captain Patrice Bergeron, and key contributors like David Krejci, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Dmitry Orlov, without finding great replacements. Senior Colin Chisholm claims, “They lost way more than they gained; they are not as good as they were last year.”
Eight games into the season, the Bruins are one of two teams without a loss in regulation, and the team looks pretty good on paper. However, this should not fool the average Bruins fan, as they have been great in almost every regular season for almost two decades now and only have one ring in the Patrice Bergeron era. The Bruins also seem to be keeping the platoon goalie style that has been shown to be ineffective when the games matter year in and year out. Senior Nick Foran is worried about the Bruins’ remaining schedule, he says, “Their record has been inflated by the easy teams they’ve played; their schedule is going to get harder.” The unfavorable schedule and constant playoff collapses will make the Bruins just out of title contention unless they play at an elite level.
On the positive side, however, the Bruins are coming off a season in which they broke the record for most points in a season, which takes some of the best talent to obtain. Many hockey fans still believe that the team that wins the President’s Trophy, (Most Points) are the true champions of the NHL for that season. David Pastrnak is a must-watch every night and will constantly be in the Hart conversation with the league’s top talent like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. The team is still talented with many reasons to tune in to every game.
Even with roster reconstruction, the Bruins do not seem to be going anywhere. However, whether they have changed their choking ways remains to be seen, but it looks like the Bruins are poised for another great regular season with no Stanley Cup to home to Boston.
