Boston Bruins: Three keys to success for the 2019-20 season
The 2018-19 season was a strong one for the Boston Bruins, but can they come back with repeat performance for 2019-20? Here are three main things that the Bruins need for that to happen.
The Boston Bruins were one of the best teams in the NHL last season. They finished the regular season with a record of 49-24-9, good for 107 points and third overall in league standings.
With many of the same players returning for the 2019-20 season, the Bruins are in position for another strong campaign, but they’ll need a few things to go right for them.
Goaltending depth
Jaroslav Halak was a pleasant surprise in net for the Bruins last season. There was no doubt that he would be a solid option to backup Tuukka Rask, but Halak surpassed all expectations that were had for him.
In fact, his play throughout the regular season can be viewed as a big reason why Rask played as well as he did in the playoffs. Halak started 37 games and finished the season with a 22-11-4 record and .922 save percentage.
Rask struggled early on last season, and it was announced early in November that he would be taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. In the end, Rask was only away from the team for three days but that proved to be valuable for him, and the team.
Whatever happened during that time away was enough to get Rask back on track, and those struggles early in the season allowed the Bruins to really see what they had in Halak. Prior to his time away, Rask had a 3.05 goals-against average and .901 save percentage but went on to finish the season with a 2.48 GAA and .912 save percentage.
The 45 games that Rask started last season is the lowest number for him since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, finishing with a record of 27-13-5. The reduced workload clearly paid off in the end, as Rask was lights out throughout the playoffs with a .934 SV% and 2.02 GAA.
With many of the same players from last year still on the roster for the Bruins, another long playoff run seems like a strong possibility.
If Halak is able to put together a repeat performance of last season, the Bruins should once again split the regular season work between both of their goalies to allow for a well-rested Rask going into the postseason.
Secondary scoring remains a slight issue for the Boston Bruins
The Bruins top line is arguably one of the very best in the NHL. Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak are all among the NHL’s elite players. It’s no secret that Bergeron is one of the best two-way forwards, while Marchand and Pastrnak are among the best scorers in the league.
The trio combined for 260 points last season, with Marchand reaching the 100-point mark for the first time in his career.
The issue for the Bruins is that if the top line wasn’t scoring, nobody else was able to pick up the slack. David Krejci quietly had a very solid year in which he recorded 73 points, but his main wingers Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen both failed to reach at least 50 points last season.
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Boston Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy tried different line combinations in order to find some help for Krejci, but lack of a true right winger for the second line was obvious all season long.
This became more obvious during the playoffs, and this ultimately hurt the Bruins during the Stanley Cup Final.
Boston didn’t have a ton of money to spend during the offseason since they needed to use whatever cap space they had to sign Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo.
As a result, they still search for somebody to play right wing alongside Krejci. Will Heinen be able to fill that void or is Karson Kuhlman a better fit? Only time will tell, but at the moment there is still a lot of uncertainty around that position.
The only sure thing is that the Bruins will need to find a source of secondary scoring to take some of the pressure off of ‘The Perfection Line.’
Decreased workload for Chara
At 42 years old, Zdeno Chara is now the oldest active player in the NHL. While he has still been able to play some valuable minutes for the Bruins, it might be time to lighten his workload and pass the torch to McAvoy.
After signing McAvoy to a deal that will pay him $4.9 million for each of the next three seasons, it might be time to see what the Bruins really have in the 21-year-old. McAvoy has shown signs that he is more than capable of being a workhorse early on in his career, but he has also struggled with various injuries and health concerns that limited him to just 54 games last season.
McAvoy isn’t the only defenseman ready for an increased workload with the Bruins. Matt Grzelcyk showed that he is capable of a bigger role after impressing during the playoffs last season, recording 8 points in 20 games. His ability to move the puck was obviously missed on the blue line after he went down with a concussion in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Bruins also have some options currently waiting for their chance to break into the NHL. Urho Vaakanainen has looked very good since being selected 18th overall by the Bruins in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
He’s likely one of the first candidates to be called up to the NHL club if anyone happens to go down with an injury. Jakub Zboril is also another young player who could see some time in the NHL. The 22-year-old has only appeared in two NHL games during his career since being selected 13th in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
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Chara is still a solid player for the Bruins but has shown some signs of decline in recent years. It’s time to pass the torch to the younger players and really see what this blue line is made of.