Three Reasons for the Bruins Early Season Success

1 of 3

Through the first11 games, the Boston Bruins sit alone in first place in the East Division at 8-1-2. It could be considered a little bit of a surprise considering that Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara left in free agency, leaving the Bruins with a young and inexperienced blue line to start the season.

Offensively, David Pastrnak missed the first seven games recovering from offseason hip surgery, which affected the forwards early on. Through the first 11 periods, Boston failed to score a 5-on-5 goal, but once they did, the flood gates opened. Add in two shootout wins, something the Black and Gold failed to do last season in seven tries and two overtime victories, it’s a recipe for early-season success.

The Bruins have endured multiple injuries to key players, but they still find ways to win games, especially in the third period where they have rallied to win their last three games. Here are three reasons for the Bruins’ early-season success in the 2021 season.

3. Bruins penalty kill ranks second after Friday’s game.

One of the strongest parts of the Bruins early in the season with their penalty kill. They have allowed just five goals on 41 chances through 11 games.

Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron each already have a shorthanded goal, while Charlie Coyle, Chris Wagner, Anders Bjork, and Sean Kuraly have done a good job on the PK. Defensively, Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon, and Jakub Zboril are helping in front of goalies Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak.

Only the Colorado Avalanche have a better penalty-killing unit than Boston early in the year. Killing penalties are going to be key in a shortened 56-game regular season in a new realigned division and will go a long way in helping them finish in the top four at the end of the year and get into the postseason.

Jan 26, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron (37) attempts a shot past Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) during the first period at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Patrice Bergeron’s offensive explosion early in the season.

Over the last couple of seasons, Patrice Bergeron has been centering the first line with Marchand and Pastrnak. His two wings have got most of the headlines with the offensive production they have put up.

Last season in a 70-game shortened season, Pasta tied Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals with 48 goals to share the Maurice Rocket Richard Award. Marchy finished with 59 assists to go along with 28 goals. Bergy scored 31 goals himself with 25 assists, but this season in the absence of Pastrank through the first seven games, the Bruins’ new captain has produced more offensively than Boston had hoped.

Bergeron is tied with Marchand with 15 points. He has six goals, one behind Marchand, and is tied with defensemen Charlie McAvoy with nine assists. He is tied with Nick Ritchie, yes, that Nick Ritchie with four power play goals.

Bergeron’s best offensive night of the season occurred Wednesday night in Philadelphia against the Flyers. He assisted on all three of Pastrnak’s goals and then won the game 27 seconds into overtime when he stuffed home his own rebound for a 4-3 victory.

Pastrnak returned for the last four games and has five goals and three assists. Bergeron and Marchand had very good starts to the season without Pasta, but reuniting the leading goal scorer from last season with Marcy and Bergy is bad news for the rest of the East Division.

Feb 1, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Jakub Vrana (13) shoots the puck on Boston Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak (41) in the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Goalies are keeping the Bruins in each game.

Over the last two seasons, the Bruins have had arguably the best goaltending duo in the NHL. Last season, Rask and Halak combined to win the William Jennings Trophy, given to the goaltenders that have played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals allowed. In 70 games in 2019-20, they gave up just 174 goals.

This season, they have picked up where they left off in the regular season. Rask is 5-1-1 with a 2.36 goals-against average (GAA) and a .898 save percentage (SV%). His one regulation loss was against the New York Islanders when he made 16 saves in a 1-0 loss. The only goal he gave up was by Jean-Gabriel Pageau in the third period when he batted the puck into the net. That is the only night to date where the Bruins offense failed to find the back of the net.

In Friday night’s 2-1 win over the Flyers, Rask stopped Joel Farabee on a penalty shot in the second period to keep the game scoreless at the time.

Halak has been solid in the four games that he has played. He is 3-0-1 with a 1.72 GAA and a .923 SV%. His only loss was a 2-1 setback in his first game of the year against the New Jersey Devils when he gave up a breakaway goal with one second left in OT.

In his three wins, he has allowed five goals on 60 shots in beating the Capitals, Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins. Once again, Halak is proving to be the game’s best backup.

Related Story. Boston Bruins: 3 Stars of the Week. light

Both goalies are in the final years of their contracts. Rask’s eight-year, $56 million contract expires following the season, and Halak’s one-year, $2.25 million deal is also up. Going forward, there are a lot of questions surrounding their futures, but if Rask continues to play as he has, it might be tough for him to not want to return for another couple of years with the Bruins.

Home / Bruins News