The Bruins got the rare back-to-back off days over the weekend, and it’s hard to argue they didn’t deserve the extra rest.
They wrapped up their October schedule on Friday with their fifth straight win, a 4-0 shutout in Columbus on the second night of a back-to-back. They enter November with the best record in the NHL at 8-1-0, and they’re off to the best start through nine games in franchise history. And they’ve done it with no Charlie McAvoy and just one game of Brad Marchand.
Before they return to game action on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, let’s take a look at five of the biggest reasons the Bruins have gotten off to such a great start. (These are not in any sort of ranked order, by the way.)
1. Jim Montgomery
It would be way too simplistic to say that the switch from Bruce Cassidy to Montgomery is why the Bruins are off to such a hot start. But it is one of the reasons.
You can’t ignore the way so many Bruins seemed to embrace the idea of a “fresh start” and “new voice” throughout training camp and the preseason. Montgomery can’t make everyone happy (Mike Reilly and Craig Smith probably aren’t thrilled about being in and out of the lineup, for instance), but for the most part, the players seem to genuinely like him, his approach, and the more offensive style he wants to play.
Aside from just the positive vibes, one area where Montgomery’s impact can be seen on the ice is in the increased number of quality scoring chances the Bruins are creating. As Shawn Ferris of Evolving-Hockey recently pointed out, the Bruins have gone from consistently being average to below-average in terms of shot quality to now leading the NHL in shot quality differential so far this season.
When you heard Don Sweeney and Cam Neely stress the need to get to “inside ice” in order to produce more 5-on-5 offense, this is what they meant. Whether it’s Montgomery’s tweaks to the breakout and transition game, defensemen activating more, or his encouragement of just a more aggressive, creative mindset in general, the results so far have been positive. The Bruins rank first in total offense and third in 5-on-5 offense.
2. Linus Ullmark
If you have one of the best goalies in the NHL, you’re going to win some games. Right now, Ullmark is playing like one of the best goalies in the NHL, and the Bruins are 6-0-0 in his starts.
Among 39 goalies who have played at least four games so far, Ullmark’s .945 save percentage ranks third and his .885 high-danger save percentage ranks sixth. He has surrendered one goal or fewer in three of his last four starts, including a 30-save shutout in Columbus on Friday.
Ullmark surged ahead of a struggling Jeremy Swayman early on, earning three straight starts before this past Thursday. Swayman, to his credit, took a big step towards getting back on track in that game, stopping 28 of 29 shots in a 5-1 win over Detroit.
3. The stars are shining
David Pastrnak is second in the NHL in points with 17 and tied for second in goals with seven, trailing only Connor McDavid in both categories. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci are averaging a point per game.
Jake DeBrusk is just under that mark with seven points in eight games. Taylor Hall bounced back from a slow start to score in three straight games from Oct. 20-25. Brad Marchand put up three points in his season debut on Thursday.
Hampus Lindholm is playing like a true No. 1 defenseman, which is extremely encouraging considering he’ll only have to be the No. 2 once Charlie McAvoy returns. He leads the team in ice time at 23:44 per game, is among the team leaders in both power play and shorthanded ice time, has two goals and five assists, is a team-best plus-9, and has a 59.8% expected goals share.
4. Offensive depth
The Bruins have had star power for years. What’s plagued them in recent postseasons is a lack of offensive depth.
So far, so good this year. Nick Foligno has already surpassed his goal total from last year with three. A.J. Greer is proving to be a shrewd summer signing, as he already has three goals and two assists in seven games while bringing some speed, energy and grit. Charlie Coyle came roaring to life with goals in back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday.
The Bruins would still like to get some more consistency from Craig Smith and Trent Frederic, and at some point a Tomas Nosek goal really would be nice to see, but Montgomery has been able to rotate guys in and out and seemingly push the right buttons at the right times so far.
5. The Forbort-Clifton pairing
Last year, Forbort and Clifton were the Bruins’ most common third pairing. At times, they were a very good one. At other times, they struggled. This year, they’ve basically the Bruins’ second pairing behind Lindholm and whoever’s on Lindholm’s right, and they’ve been very good.
Clifton is second on the team in ice time at 21:14 per game and Forbort is third at 20:22. They’ve been by far the Bruins’ most common pairing, playing 107:01 together at 5-on-5. During those minutes, the Bruins have outscored opponents 6-4 and have 55.4% of expected goals, despite the fact that they’re getting more defensive-zone shifts than offensive opportunities.
Add in the fact that they’re the top two penalty-killers on the NHL’s No. 2 PK (93.9%), and it really can’t be overstated how valuable Forbort and Clifton have been, especially with all the injuries the Bruins have already had on the blue line.
Ultimately, they won’t be expected to be the second pairing all season. Forbort and Clifton will likely settle back into the third slot once McAvoy returns, with McAvoy, Lindholm, Matt Grzelcyk and Brandon Carlo ahead of them. If they continue to play like this, they’ll be a very good third pair.
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