In the last five games, the Bruins have come away with a 5-0-0 record as well as only allowing five goals during the homestead.
Two games where they let up two goals, one game with one goal, and two games with zero goals.
So why is this surprising? Before this homestead, it seemed like the Bruins could only let up three or more goals a game. In their last homestead, they went 1-4, allowing 16 goals in those 5 games.
What Happened?
How did the Bruins go from letting up 33 goals in the 10 games before their most recent home game to only letting up five in their last 5 games?
It could be a combination of things. Goaltending, fewer penalties, players stepping up, and better play 5-on-5.
Goaltending
Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo have been standing on their heads. They recorded back-to-back shutouts. Korpisalo has stepped up after he had been struggling and not playing as often. Swayman has looked like what we all thought he could look like.
Swayman played three of the last five games, sitting at a 3-0 record with a .951 save percentage over those three games. He sits with a 1.34 goals against average in those three games. Korpisalo played two of the last five, sitting with a 2-0 record and a .982 save percentage, and a 0.50 goals against average, having allowed just one goal in his last two starts.
Less Penalties
The Bruins have only taken 12 penalties in the last five games. During those 12 penalty kills, they have only given up three goals, and even scored their second short-handed goal of the season against the Seattle Kraken.
Players Stepping Up
Morgan Geekie has gone a bit cold, not scoring in the last 12 games; other players have been stepping up. Marat Khusnutdinov has five goals in the last five games. David Pastrnak has been an assist machine, chalking up eight assists in the last five games. All the players that need to step up have been, and the team seems to be connecting at the right time.
5-on-5 play
The Bruins, before the last five games, have been mediocre at best at 5-on-5 play. Or when they were having good momentum 5-on-5, they would be idiots and take four penalties in the game, ruining any momentum they had.
They have outscored their opponents, 20-3, when playing 5-on-5, which is an amazing improvement, when it seemed like they could not stay out of the box. In the five games before the homestead, the Bruins were outscored 5-on-5 by one goal, sitting at 10-11 when goals were scored at even strength.
Will It Last?
The big question is, is this sustainable? The way the Bruins are playing, it is quite sustainable. The Bruins are surging, and right now they are showing that they are a good team, even though there are still areas of improvement and cleaning up their game.
But for now, all fans will take them, only allowing five goals in five games, since before this stretched it seemed like all the Bruins could do was let up goals.