The Boston Bruins have been covertly climbing back up the Atlantic Division and they’ve since become one of the more fun teams to watch in the NHL lately. You can attribute that to some of their heavier hitters like David Pastrnak, just to throw a name out there. But let’s not forget about a small string of underrated players who’ve made their respective marks so far.
If you’re a Bruins fan, chances are, you’ll already know where I’m going with this. But there may be a name or two on here that may shock you, especially since I didn’t think very highly of one of them earlier this season.
Cole Koepke
Cole Koepke has been on the radar roughly all season, thanks to his hot start. While Koepke hasn’t been as sound since that memorable first month of play, he’s still been a big reason behind the Bruins recent success.
These days, he’s playing the way you would expect him to, with five goals and 10 points in 31 contests and with his usual 10:56 of average total ice time. He’s continued to inject physicality into this Bruins team alongside Nikita Zadorov, Trent Frederic, and Mark Kastelic, with 65 hits so far on the year.
And that’s really all Koepke needs if he wants to keep making an impact. Play physical hockey, and at least create if you’re not producing points. That’s been the continued case with Koepke, who has a 12.9 on-ice shooting percentage at even strength plus a solid 48.3 Corsi For.
Solid because he’s making the most of his offensive zone starting percentages, which is currently just 30.1 percent.
Nikita Zadorov
Nikita Zadorov didn’t look like a sound signing earlier this season, but I’ve since changed my opinion on him. Right now, he’s looking like he’s completed a 180, with 19:47 of average total ice time, 90 body checks, a plus-3, and eight points.
No, most of those numbers don’t look spectacular, but Zadorov’s tenacity means there’s a player in a Bruins uniform opponents need to be leery of. While I’d like to see more production at even strength, considering his plus-50 in the Corsi For, given his on-ice shooting percentage of 9.6, it’s been a different story defensively.
Currently, Zadorov has a solid 91.5 on-ice save percentage when the Bruins are at even strength, and he’s only been on the ice for 21 goals allowed in that same situation. Meanwhile, Zadorov has seen the Bruins score 24 times, which isn’t an outstanding number, but it’s also not a bad one.
Joonas Korpisalo
Oh yes, I’ve been talking a lot about Joonas Korpisalo, but he’s often shown us why he’s transformed into one of the league’s better 1B/No. 2 goaltenders through mid-December. Yeah, he’s coming off of a bad game to the Seattle Kraken in which he allowed four goals, but I’m not getting too harsh on Korpisalo unless he sustains a string of difficult outings.
There’s not a single goaltender out there who hasn’t struggled through a 60-minute contest at one point or another, so right now, that performance against the Kraken is an outlier. With that in mind, Korpisalo still has a pair of shutouts, a 2.56 GAA, a 0.901 save percentage, and a 0.600 quality starts percentage.