Boston Bruins: A look back at October.
Oct 21, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins center
Seth Griffith(53) celebrates his first NHL goal with teammates center
David Krejci(46) and defenseman
Dennis Seidenberg(44) during the third period of Boston
The first month of the NHL’s 2014-15 season is in the books. It certainly wasn’t a stellar one for the Boston Bruins. The Black and Gold finished the month of October with a .500 (6-6-0) record. This puts the B’s in fifth place in the Atlantic Division, and eighth overall in the Eastern Conference.
There were key injuries in the month of October that certainly took their toll on the roster. The Bruins started October with nine NHL ready defensemen. At the end of the month, the Bruins have four (and one of them is Matt Bartkowski). The B’s have been denied the services of their captain, Zdeno Chara. He’s still not slated to return till around Thanksgiving. There is still no timetable for the return of Kevan Miller. Now the Bruins will be missing Torey Krug for the first half of November.
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There have been several milestones set along the way for the Heroes of Causeway Street. Joe Morrow, Seth Griffith, and Bobby Robins played their first career NHL games for Boston, and each made their own mark. Patrice Bergeron crossed the 500th career point total. Loui Eriksson crossed 400, and Dennis Seidenberg passed 200. The Bruins current total for consecutive sell-out home games continues to climb (It currently stands at 219).
Patrice Bergeron leads all players in the league for winning in the face-off circle. He has currently one 63.5% of his matches on the dot (and all would agree this hasn’t been his best month in a Bruins uniform). Last year’s Selke winner looks like he’s shaken off most of his early season rust and is on his way to defend his title as the best defensive-minded forward in the NHL.
When it comes to individual performances, one player is in nearly every category in the top three. That player is David Krejci. Krejci is tied for the team lead in goals (three, along with Seth Griffith and Brad Marchand). He leads the team in assists (six, tied with Milan Lucic), and is the current overall point leader with nine in the month of October. He ranks third with shot percentage(14.3%), and has come back firing on all cylinders. He single handedly revitalized the top line, and has given crucial leadership experience to the rotating roster occupying the slot held last season by Jarome Iginla.
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The Bruins overall stats reflect their .500 season. The B’s have only scored two more goals than they have given up. Tuukka Rask has been surprisingly average during October. He’s got a 4-4 record, with a 2.81 goals against average. His save percentage is a shaky .899, but it has been improving. Eleven players are in the negatives on the plus/minus with Matt Bartkowski leading the way at -4. (Kevan Miller leads the positive side with +4.)The rookie defensemen have once again been exposed to a wicked learning curve when it comes to NHL level hockey.
The Bruins start the month of November with a home game against the Ottawa Senators. While the Bruins will be playing without some of their key defenders, the Black and Gold will do everything in their power to get back to playing consistently to their identity: two-way, three-zone defensive-minded hockey.