January brought in a new year and an improved Boston Bruins team, which showed their fans they are still vying for a playoff spot. Record after record was broken this month, and the team seems unstoppable. The month wrapped up with an impressive nine consecutive wins at home. So what's behind their rise to the top? Let's discuss.
Leaders in NHL Penalty Minutes
Defenseman Nikita Zadorov and winger Mark Kastelic currently hold the top two spots in penalties in minutes, spending 121 and 106 minutes in the box, respectively. Coach Marco Sturm has made comments previously about not racking up multiple penalties per game, as the opponents would then gain the power play advantage.
However, focusing on beefing up the defensive line and improving overall size on the team this season has been a direct result of Sturm's efforts since joining the B's in August. Now with the top two PIM spots secured, opponents are more hesitant to run over our players as has happened in the past.
Games on Home Ice
Multiple Bruins players have been vocal about how they feel more empowered playing at TD Garden on home ice. The fans in attendance at each game cause them to want to do better, as it's difficult to ignore 17,850 screaming chants of "Let's go Bruins," or the undeniable, staggering courses of "wooooooooo" which follows each score announcement. Attending games on home turf is such a surreal experience for anyone in attendance, let alone being a player on the ice and having all of Spoked-B Nation surrounding you and cheering you on.
"It's very impressive, the way we played January. It's a tough month, always been. It's a grind after Christmas to come back...and the way we played, too, I thought it was really, really good, very consistent, very hard, structured....David was outstanding. The goalies were back to business, so a lot of good things happened, and especially at home, too. We feel very comfortable at home. So yeah, it was good...It was a good month. Now, we just gotta make sure we're gonna finish those two games on the road."Marco Sturm
Everything goes with Pasta
Notorious goal leader David Pastrnak is usually the main dish, but he's happily been serving up assists on the side all this month. The impressive January 10th game at home versus the New York Rangers is sure to be talked about for seasons to come. Pasta served up six assists during the 10-2 win over the Rangers, which was the most assists by a Bruins player in a single game since Ray Bourque in 1990. It doesn't stop there. Pastrnak continued to add to his achievements all month, catapulting the B's back into contention for a playoff spot.
- Pastrnak appeared in his 800th career game on January 17th.
- Pastrnak became the 4th Bruins player to record 20 assists in a single calendar month.
- Pastarnak scored the 5th fastest goal to start an overtime period in franchise history.
- Pastrnak collected his 100th career multi-assist game, becoming the 10th Bruins player to do so.
- Pastrnak currently sits at sixth among all-time points leaders for the B's.
- Pasternak became the fourth player in Bruins history with ten consecutive 20-goal seasons.
Bruins Continue to Impress
Pastrnak couldn't have done this on his own, as he was backed by multiple teammates. January also revealed two shutouts, one for each goalie. Wingers Alex Steeves and Jonathan Aspirot were both given contract extensions. Other impressive feats on display throughout January, which were hard to miss:
- Morgan Geekie hit 200 career points.
- Hampus Lindholm reached 800 career games.
- The Bruins scored 3 goals in a 54-second span - the fastest since December 20, 2021.
- Sean Kuraly reached 100 career assists.
- The team collectively scored 10 goals in one game for the first time since October 1988.
- Pavel Zacha & Marat Khusnutdinov became the 6th pair of Bruins teammates in history to record a hat trick in one game.
This is a great time to make the move and become a Bruins fan, if you haven't already done so. The Causeway believers once thought the record-breaking 2022-23 season was the end of an era. But the Bears of this season are proving they're just as hungry for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and their unending streak of performances in January has been proof. Will they continue their home streak domination and make the Stanley Cup playoffs? Stay tuned, Spoked-B Nation!