Last week was another up and down week for the Boston Bruins. They pulled off two strong performances against the Nashville Predators and the Ottawa Senators, winning both games by a margin of 11-2. They did lose the second match against the Senators in Ottawa 4-3, but the Bruins still had a solid 2-1 performance in the last seven days. While the roster’s repair is still on going, the performance of a lot of the younger players and members of the Providence squad have allowed the team to have an 8-4 record going into the final game of the month and year.
There have been a lot of players making strong contributions for the Black and Gold, but the Three Stars of the Week go out those players who really dug down deep to give a solid performance for Boston.
Honorable Mention: Ryan Spooner. Ryan Spooner is one of those players still working on his entry level contract. He has spent most of his career in the Providence organization, and he was called up in the wake of the injuries that have plagued the team this month. He had his first three point game in his NHL career with the performance he put in against the Predators. He’s made a case to be the new thirteenth forward and has more than earned the right to wear the spoked ‘B’.
Third Star: David Krejci. David Krejci is still the top scorer for the Boston Bruins. He leads the team with thirty four points, three of them he earned last week. He got a goal in the Ottawa win, and assists in the other two games. For all the brute strength and presence the Bruins have, Krejci still finds a way to make those quiet but important plays when we need him to. He’s very subtle for a hockey player, but still has the ability to make time and space in ways that make theoretical physicists moan with envy. He finished the week with six shots on goal, a plus/minus of two, and averaged just over twenty shifts a game.
Second Star: Jarome Iginla. Iggy! Iggy Iggy! Oi! Oi! Oi! A chant muttered by Johnny Boychuk in ‘Behind the B’ has taken off and is all over social media in Boston. Iginla was a scoring beast for the Bruins last week. He scored in all three games, and had a two tally game in Nashville. His four goal performance now places him in a tie with Milan Lucic for scoring with twelve goals. He put up seven shots on the week (As he got four goals on those shots, you’ve got to admire his sniper’s eye.)Iginla averaged just under twenty shifts, carried a plus/minus of two, and plays like he’s always belonged in the Bruins organization.
First Star: Reilly Smith. At this point, we have to start chanting either ‘Thank you Seguin’ or ‘Thank you Peverley’ at Bruins home games. The young player that started as an add-on in the monster Seguin-Eriksson trade has been doing it all for the Bruins. Smith now leads the team in goals with fourteen, and is only the second player amongst the Black and Gold to break the thirty point barrier this season. Smith put in a five point performance last week. He put in two goals during the Ottawa win, and a goal and two assists against the Predators. He’s done such an amazing job on the second line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, that the organization is going to have a tough time figuring out who is going to go back to the third line once Eriksson is deemed healthy enough to play again.
Smith finished the week with twelve shots, also had a plus/minus of two, averaged over twenty one shifts a game, and had the fortune of getting the game winner in Nashville that happened on the power play. Smith has done a lot for this organization, and while it still stings a little not to see Nathan Horton‘s name above the number eighteen, the Bruins have found a successor worthy of that number’s legacy.