Boston Bruins: Mid-Season Report Cards-Part 2
The Boston Bruins are hoping to bounce back on the right track to start the second half of their season. While the Bruins are currently out of a playoff spot, they’re still in the thick of it. Thankfully, the Bruins haven’t hit the panic button yet. (It’s not like they’ve decided to give up players in order to trade for John Scott, right Montreal?) The team at Causeway Crowd continue with their mid-season grades for the Boston Bruins.
(29 games played. 3 points (1 goal). -8, with 24 shots on goal, and a 4.2% shot success rate.)
Joonas Kemppainen is one of those European players that just don’t seem comfortable on NHL ice. He’s not much of threat offensively. He also doesn’t seem to do very well in transition, especially against faster teams. Still, he’s seeing 14 minutes plus of ice time a night. (Claude did cut him down to 11:27 in their loss against the Flyers.)
He was brought on board to be a big bodied center, and to provide secondary scoring for Boston. He’s done next to nothing offensively, and doesn’t seem to take too well to the Bruins system. If Chris Kelly was healthy, he’d probably spend most of his time on the ninth level. He hasn’t made the grade on the ice, and will likely be heading back to Europe after this season.
Final Grade: D
More from Bruins News
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- The Bruins should take a look at these four free agents
- NHL Network lists Ullmark as sixth-best goalie in the league
- The Lasting Legacy of David Krejci
(35 games played. 33 points (11 goals). +2, with 2 power play goals. 73 shots, with a 15.1% shot success rate.)
At the start of the season, David Krejci was the leading scorer in the NHL. While his numbers did cool down a bit, he’s still scoring nearly a point a game. He’s been one of the more reliable players for Boston since he started playing here full-time in the 2007-08 season. He did a great job helping fellow Czech David Pastrnak learn the Bruins system, and has been a supplemental coach for the young phenom.
He sustained an upper body injury just after Christmas playing against the Ottawa Senators on December 27th, and has been listed ‘week-to-week’ since. His skating and leadership have been greatly missed, and the loss of Krejci can partially explain why the Bruins have gone 2-7-1 in their last ten games.
Final Grade: A
(37 games played (3 games suspended). 26 points (15 goals). +8, with 3 power play goals, and 3 shorthanded goals. 115 shots on goal with a 13% shot success rate.)
With the rash of injuries affecting the team, the Boston Bruins believed Brad Marchand was deserving of the ‘A’ on his sweater. His choosing to make a very low hit on Mark Borowiecki (which resulted in a three game suspension), and a few other bad choices caused him to lose it. (It also caused him to lose his A for his grade.)
Brad Marchand has still had a pretty solid season in spite of a few bad choices. He still leads the team in goals, and has done his best to be not only a solid player, but a royal puck in the rear to opposing teams. Not only does he play better with Patrice Bergeron, Marchand’s presence helps to elevate Bergeron’s game. Their chemistry has been a big part of the top line’s success in Boston.
Marchand is on pace for a thirty goal season. While he’s not ready to wear the ‘A’ just yet in Boston. If he continues his work on and off the ice, he’ll see that ‘A’ returned in the near future.
Final Grade: B+
More from Causeway Crowd
- Harrison, Toporowski shine in Prospects Challenge
- Obscure former Boston Bruins: Steven Kampfer
- Bruins release Prospects Challenge roster, schedule Tuesday
- Bruins release full “Historic 100” list ahead of season
- McAvoy, Lucic named to “Historic 100” list over the weekend
David Pastrnak
(13 games played. 5 points (3 goals). -3, with 27 shots on goal, and a 11.1% shot success rate.)
The Boston Bruins were secretly hoping for a twenty goal season out of Pastrnak. Perhaps they were expecting more than that. Unfortunately, Pasta had to deal with a broken foot early in the season. He got healthy just in time for World Juniors, but broke a finger during the competition. Now, he’s out day-to-day with an undisclosed upper body injury.
At the start of the season, expectations were high for the 19-year old. Now, the Bruins are just hoping for the best during the second half of the season. As long as he’s healthy, Pastrnak should have a strong second half of the season. That’s what the Bruins are hoping for at least.
Final Grade: C-
(20 games played. 4 points (4 goals). 12 shots, with a 33.3% shot success rate.)
The Boston Bruins called up Tyler Randell from Providence to be a fourth line grinder for them. By and large, he is doing what is expected of him. He’s not playing many minutes for the B’s (he’s averaged just over six minutes a game in his last five), he tries to make them as productive as possible.
Randell is a big guy who stands up for his team. He’s had four fights so far this season, and according to Hockeyfights.com, he’s won all four of them. (He also had three more in the preseason.) If he could provide a little more offense, he’d really be an asset to the Black and Gold.
Final Grade: C+/B-
(35 games played. 2 points (1 goal). -7, with 30 shots on goal, and a 3.3% shot success rate.)
When the Bruins signed Zac Rinaldo in the offseason, a lot of fans expressed disbelief and concern. Rinaldo was not exactly known for his clean play. When he wasn’t in the penalty box for cheap shots, he was a healthy scratch. So, when Rinaldo promised that he was cleaning up his act, a lot of us just rolled our eyes and hoped he wouldn’t be that much of a liability.
To a lot of people’s collective surprise, he wasn’t the flaming dumpster fire we were expecting. He made sensible plays most of the time. Even the media began complimenting on him making smart choices and not being a drain on the salary cap.
Granted, Rinaldo leads the team in penalty minutes (with 63). Some of those calls against him though were purely based on past reputation. The Bruins knew what they were getting when they signed him, and they shouldn’t be all that surprised that Rinaldo is essentially a one-trick pony. He’d have gotten a better grade if he stuck up for his teammates more.
Final Grade: C-