Boston Bruins: A December To Remember
The Boston Bruins put up another two points tonight in their 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils. With those two points, the Bruins have done something rather tremendous. Starting the season at the bottom of the league, conference, and division, the Black and Gold have roared back like their namesakes.
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The Bruins now have 42 points so far this season. That’s good enough to put the Bruins in third in the Eastern Conference and second in the Atlantic, just a single point behind their ancient rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. This has been one of the best regular season comebacks for any NHL team in recent memory, and the players should be happy with the minor miracle they have performed this season.
“If you asked me [if I believed the Bruins are a first-place team] probably a month and a half ago, then I would probably say no,” said B’s forward Ryan Spooner postgame. His shootout goal was the deciding factor in tonight’s Bruins win. “But the way that we have been playing, yes. I feel like in the last little bit here, we have really jelled as a team, and we have shown that we can play with all the teams in the league.”
The Bruins have had a fantastic run recently. They’ve earned 15 out of a possible 20 points this month. They’ve gone 6-1-1 in their last eight home games, and for the first time this season are above the .500 mark for games played at home. They’ve won three straight, and five out of six games.
While the wins are crucial, the Bruins have done so much more than just win games. They’ve played complete (or mostly complete) games. They have cut back on the wasteful penalties, and have been outstanding on the penalty kill as of late. During the Bruins most recent 11-1-3 stretch, they’ve stopped 51 of 54 attempts while down a man. The Bruins have risen like a phoenix in the rankings, going from dead last to 16th in the league with a 81.2% kill rate. That’s eleven percentage points higher than it was just a month ago.
While the Bruins have done a lot of great things recently, they know they’ve got to keep up the pressure. The New York Rangers have the same amount of points as Boston, but have played three more games. The Red Detroit Red Wings, the New York Islanders, and even the Florida Panthers are within two points of the Black and Gold.
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You go from [being] out of a playoff spot to where we are right now, and it’s exciting; it’s where you want to be,” said Landon Ferraro. The Bruins newest addition has done his part so far for the Bruins and is eager to do more to keep the Bruins’ place in the standings. “It’s still extremely early in the year. There’s a still a lot of games left, and you can’t be satisfied. Teams are just getting better. So we need to make sure that we continue to get better and make sure that we’re pushing ourselves every day.”
Meanwhile, it’s turning into a total disaster for our friends over in Montreal. Without Vezina-winning goaltender Carey Price to save them, The Canadiens are in a tailspin, having lost seven of their last eight games. Habs forward(and Connecticut native) Max Pacioretty is so frustrated he fired off the F-bomb in an interview with the media. A *stick tap* to Tyler Seguin and the rest of the Dallas Stars for the most recent handing of the heads to the Habs.
If the Bruins can keep up this kind of pace and beat the St. Louis Blues when they come to town on Tuesday, they could give B’s fans an amazing holiday surprise. They’d be the top team in the Atlantic Division on Christmas Day. Who says Santa Claus doesn’t read your kids letters anymore?