Nov 9, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) follows the play during the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Last week was mostly a good week for the Bruins (a little irony from Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley scoring on us in a shootout loss aside). They went 2-0-1, and are showing signs of the greatness again. Losing to former Bruins bad boy Tyler Seguin might have finally got the Bruins to play with their old swagger and sense of self again. While the loss to Dallas was surprising, their sound victories over both the Florida Panthers (4-1) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (3-1) showed the fans what this team is made of.
Honorable Mention: Reilly Smith. Smith put up four points for Boston last week. He garnered a goal in the shooting gallery game against the Panthers, and put up three assists for Boston. Smith has been one of the pleasant surprises for Boston. He seems to have settled in on the third line with Kelly and Soderberg and is doing quite well there. Currently, he is in a three way tie for third in points (along with Jarome Iginla and Torey Krug) with eleven.
Third Star: Patrice Bergeron. We’ve missed you in the rankings # 37, but your two goal game against Atlantic rival Toronto made a lot of Bruins fans breathe easier. Bergeron was everywhere he needed to be for the team this week, and it was great to see him climb up the scoreboard. He is fourth on the team with nine points overall.
Second Star: Torey Krug. Torey Krug was our other two goal scorer for the week. If you had said that a 5’9″ player would be one of the highest scoring defensemen in the league at this point, I would have chuckled and politely questioned your sanity. Krug is having a great season so far with eleven points to his credit. His two goals came in games against Florida and Dallas, and he’s proving to be a fantastic offensive minded blueliner for Boston. Krug topped it off with an assist on Chara’s goal against Toronto. He’s starting to generate buzz on who should win the Calder Trophy this year, and if keeps playing like this, he will be the man to beat.
First Star: Tuukka Rask. There can be no other choice for the top star of the Bruins. “Two U’s, Two K’s, Two points” has become an all too familiar post game statement in Boston. No matter how badly the Bruins have been in any particular series, period or game, number 40 has bailed them out impressively. If it wasn’t for some sloppy penalties by Boston, he would have gone undefeated last week. His numbers for the week are just insane anyway. He stopped ninety of ninety-four shots on goal last week.(.957%) Currently, Rask is fourth overall in wins (10), second in goals against (1.52) and he has the highest save percentage in the entire NHL (.957%) If Tuukka isn’t considered a candidate for this year’s Vezina, then we really got to question what is going on in NHL hockey these days.