The Gallery God’s Boston Bruins Player Rankings: Week Four

The Boston Bruins were a busy team last week, traveling to Pittsburgh, New York (Rangers), and Toronto, going 2-1 on their mini-road trip. There were a few highlight reel goals – shoutout to David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm – and some acrobatic saves by Linus Ullmark to help keep the Bruins at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Let the debates begin on whose stock is up and whose stock is down.

This week’s top player will stir the pot right out of the gate. Pastrnak remains in the number-one spot because of his backhanded goal against Igor Shesterkin. The soon-to-be free agent leads the team in scoring with 19 points and will give Connor McDavid a run for the goal-scoring title as the season progresses.

If the NHL season ended right now, Lindholm would be in the conversation for the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman. Sure, fellow countryman, Erik Karlsson may be tearing it up in San Jose, but Lindholm is carrying the team offensively from the back end. He’s six points behind Pasta in scoring, a statistic no one would have thought of at the start of the year. Last week he channeled the spirit of Bobby Orr by taking the puck end-to-end to score the game-winner against the Penguins, a makeup moment after taking a penalty earlier in the overtime.

Brad Marchand will stay in the third spot for the second consecutive week. We are sure some people out there will question whether or not he’s the right player for the place, but the Bruins are a far better team with #63 skating up and down the ice. Last week Marchand scored the only goal in Toronto (on a penalty shot, nonetheless) and found the back of the net against the Penguins for his third goal in two games. Moreover, on Monday night, he collected two helpers, showcasing his ability to create plays without lighting the lamp.

Honorable mentions: Patrice Bergeron and Linus Ullmark

After dressing in two games, Anton Stralman stays on the list, finishing the week with a minus-two rating and one shot on goal. After averaging close to 19 minutes a night, he witnessed his ice time drastically cut in New York, down to just 13:14. He recently sat against Toronto and St. Louis, highlighting that he’s on borrowed time as the team patiently waits for Charlie McAvoy to return.

Tomas Nosek has one assist in 12 games. Last week, he registered just two shots on goal in three games despite averaging 13:45 minutes a night. Nosek was minus-one against both the Rangers and Leafs, meaning he was on the ice for half of the goals the team gave up in those two games.

A.J. Greer pops up on the player rankings for the first time. He had a quiet week on the scoresheet with just an assist against the Penguins; however, he got into a fight in New York, resulting in 17 penalty minutes. He’s the current leader in penalty minutes (19) and has collected sixth points – which is good enough for tenth in team scoring. Greer had a night off against St. Louis, having just one point in the last six games.

Who should have made this week’s player rankings? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to check back every Monday for another Gallery God’s Player Rankings, where we will sort the best and worse Bruins’ players based on their recent play.

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