Boston Bruins 3 Stars of the Week

Feb 10, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) squirts himself with water during the second period against the Dallas Stars at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

This past week has been an agonizing one for Bruins fans. First the Black and Gold had a disappointing effort against their arch-rival, the Montreal Canadiens, then were clearly caught on their heels by the speedy Stars, and wrapped up the week in the same manor they started it, by looking uninspired against a West Coast-rival Vancouver Canucks. In a week where little effort was shown by any member of the Causeway Crew it is hard to pick the definitive stars of the week, but thankfully amongst the gaping hole of darkness in the Bruins locker room, there were three glimmers of hope.

Third Star- The Krejci line, especially David Pastrnak

Boston has been heavily criticized as of late for not looking hungry enough, and for seemingly abandoning their hard-to-play-against style of hard-hitting, nitty gritty hockey. Of all the players with a spoked-B on their chest, Milan Lucic has been criticized more than any other. Luckily where Milan Lucic has been inconsistent, his line mates David Pastrnak and David Krejci have led the Bruins offensive charge. While the numbers may not be overwhelming in this week’s games, the team’s total offensive production has been so little that this line’s two goals in three games is Star of the Week-worthy. Numbers aside the Davids’ chemistry was seen almost instantly, with Krejci being the elite playmaker that he is and Pastrnak becoming a prolific scorer many hoped he’d become, this line’s chemistry could get the Bruins a few W’s as this pivotal stretch in the season continues. If the spark of the two Davids is able to reach their linemate, maybe they can give the rest of the lineup something to play for.

Second Star- Patrice Bergeron

In a week where numbers are seemingly invisible for the team’s entire roster, Patrice Bergeron has a two-game scoring streak. He continues to be Captain Clutch, netting pucks when his team needs them to stay in games. His production this week aside, his leadership qualities is why he is one of the Stars of the Week. Bergeron will never place blame directly on his teammates and will be the first to admit when theres a problem. In an interview earlier this week with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Gresh and Zo Show  he showed again why he wears an A on his chest, and why one day it will undoubtably be replaced by a C. He admitted the problems that Boston has had with Montreal this season, but instead of taking the easy way out and painting his team in a negative light, he reassuringly said once you’re in the playoffs anything can happen.

His off-ice leadership rolls-over to how he carries himself on ice as well. In Friday night’s game in Vancouver things were seemingly getting out of hand for Boston. They had just allowed two early goals and Bergy was making the lonely skate to the sin bin. At this point many fans were changing the channel or going to bed thinking this was going to get ugly quick, instead Boston had a great penalty kill and Bergeron came out of the box and immediately scored bringing the Bruins right back into the game. While the end result may not have been what they wanted, Bergeron’s leadership is one of the only reasons the game was close.

First Star- Tuukka Rask

This was the most obvious choice when it came to picking stars for the Bruins this week, and does not nearly need as long of an explanation as Bergeron or the Krejci line did. Simply put, The one game that Tuukka Rask did not start this week, the defense continued their lackluster play (to put it gently) and backup Niklas Svedberg allowed three goals on 10 shots. This goes to show how much Rask has truly done for the Black and Gold as of late. He has bailed them out almost every time they need him to, which has been quite often, and kept them in games they had no business being in after playing like an AHL squad in their own end. His contributions have been and continue to be an invaluable asset to the hockey club, however he can only do so much. If the Bruins can not make his job a little bit easier and continue to turn the puck over, eighth seed will be a success for this team.