No, it hasn’t been an easy ride for the Boston Bruins over their first seven games of the season. A less-than-stellar contract for their backup goaltender and a head coach who seems to be going into panic mode at times hasn’t helped Boston lately, but it’s still early in the season, and we do need to recognize some of the good that’s been going on.
One positive takeaway through the early part of the season has come in the form of Cole Koepke, who, despite receiving just fourth-line minutes, has been a revelation. Whether he keeps up his high-octane pace is an underrated albeit interesting storyline to watch, but so far, Koepke has dazzled with six points and three goals in seven games.
Heading into Thursday, Koepke also has 19 hits, a plus-10, and he has yet to be on the ice for a goal at even strength. Earlier in the week, I talked about Boston’s abysmal statistic in the Corsi For at 5-on-5, and it’s something that continues to hammer them, but you can’t necessarily blame Koepke.
While his Corsi is sitting at just 47.2, let’s also point out that most of his zone starts, 77.8 percent of them, are occurring in the defensive zone.
Cole Koepke has been a nice find so far for the Boston Bruins
Given his stellar play, it’s time for Jim Montgomery and Company to seriously consider expanding Cole Koepke’s role to see if he can help kickstart a team that found itself on the wrong end of a shutout during the Frozen Frenzy.
The Bruins must find a way to keep pace with teams like the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs, and if it means experimenting with the lines and expanding some roles while decreasing others, it needs to happen. Or else, someone like Koepke, who could be on the verge of a breakout year, will just see his efforts go to the wayside.
So, negativity has been a theme this season in Boston and for several reasons, especially since this team is more than capable of playing better hockey than what they’ve given their fans. But let’s not allow that negativity to force us to ignore some positive developments, and Koepke, who came on a one-year, two-way deal, more than deserves recognition.