There is no doubt that one of the surprise teams in the NHL through the first week is the Boston Bruins. At 3-1-0, the Black and Gold have beaten the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and Buffalo Sabres, while suffering a one-goal loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at home on Monday.
Has it been pretty in their three wins? No, and if they are going to win a lot of games this year, most will not be pretty. Gone are the days of the top-line offensive line with firepower, and it's been replaced with grinders in the bottom six. They do have a good top line of Elias Lindholm, David Pastrnak, and Morgan Geekie, while their second line is going to be a nightly wild card.
Boston's hot start has seen them climb in CBS Sports' power rankings, and NHL writer Austin Nivison pointed out the obvious if the Bruins are going to keep this start going in the right direction.
Bruins move up CBS Sports NHL power rankings
One week into the season, the Bruins have moved up four spots to No. 20 after their start to the season. Here is what Nivison wrote,
"If the Bruins are going to sniff the playoffs, they'll need David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman at the very top of their respective games. They've gotten that so far. Can they get it for 82 games? I guess we'll find out!"
Yes, Swayman and Pastrnak have been good early in the season. Even Pastrnak showed off his goaltending skills against Tampa Bay with a save late in the game as the Lightning were looking to seal the victory with an empty-net goal.
There is no question that Pastrnak and Swayman are going to need to play at a high level this year if the Bruins are going to even sniff the playoffs. Their three-game road trip begins on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights and is followed by stops against the Colorado Avalanche and Utah Mammoth.
Another key for Boston to sniff the postseason is health, and it appears that they might be getting defenseman Hampus Lindholm back, which would be a big addition after missing the last two games with a lower-body injury.