Boston Bruins fans are looking at the stats in Providence and wondering why they are stuck with a bunch of grinders while Providence has a top-six loaded with talent. Through the team's first four games, six players have two or more goals, and seven players have five or more points.
Georgii Merkulov is leading the way with two goals and five assists, while Fabian Lysell, Alex Steeves, and Matej Blumel are tight behind with six points apiece. Lysell, Steeves, and Riley Tufte are in a tie for the team lead with three goals each.
The scary thing for Providence is that Matthew Poitras and Dans Locmelis haven't settled in completely yet, as Poitras has just five assists and Locmelis has a goal and two assists. If those two forwards begin to hit their stride, there isn't much that will slow down the Providence offense in the AHL.
Bruins fans are likely looking at this output and dreaming of a scenario where Don Sweeney calls up two or three of those forwards to the big roster, especially after seeing their performance in Saturday night's game against the Colorado Avalanche. However, Don Sweeney has to be thinking about whether he'd rather let the chips fall where they may at the NHL level and let the young players stay and develop in Providence.
The good news for the Bruins is that the offensive depth is so great in Providence that they could afford to call up a couple of forwards and they'd still be just fine. It might come to that if Marco Sturm continues to struggle finding forwards to play in the top six.
While it's looking more and more likely that the NHL Bruins won't be playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this Spring, the AHL Bruins are going to be one of the top teams in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Providence hasn't made the Calder Cup Finals since the 1998-99 season, when they won the championship, but they do have five Conference Final losses since then. After four games, it's looking like this could be their best chance at breaking the slump.