Through the first week of the NHL season, the 3-0-0 Bruins have the No. 1 offense in the NHL. There are definitely caveats worth mentioning, which we'll get to, but scoring 16 goals in three games is hard to ignore regardless of the circumstances. The only other time a Bruins team scored five or more goals in each of its first three games was 1970-71, at the height of the Bobby Orr era.
They have had 12 different goal-scorers and 15 different point-scorers already. In Game 1, David Pastrnak and David Krejci were the offensive stars. In Game 2, the third and fourth lines stepped up to lead the way. In Game 3, Monday's 5-3 win over the Panthers, Jake DeBrusk and Patrice Bergeron took over.
For a team that once again became too reliant on one line in the playoffs last year, the early returns show a deeper offense, with two top lines, a bottom six that can contribute, and defensemen getting more involved under new coach Jim Montgomery. And that's all happening with Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk out of the lineup.
"It's massive," DeBrusk said of the Bruins' offensive depth so far. "It's one of those things where you need all hands on deck. To have all these guys, some newer faces, some guys get off to good starts -- I think we have, what, 12 goal-scorers now or something like that? It's nothing but good things. … To have that many guys going is only going to help our team."
Eleven of the 16 goals have come at 5-on-5, putting them second in 5-on-5 scoring. It's not just a matter of early shooting luck, either. The Bruins are fourth in 5-on-5 shot attempts, fifth in expected goals, fourth in scoring chances, and second in high-danger chances.
Considering that the Bruins took a lot of shots but not a lot of high-quality shots last year (15th in high-danger chances), that last number may be the most encouraging of all. The front office and Montgomery made "inside ice" a point of emphasis this offseason. So far, they're getting there.
The Bruins have had good stretches of offensive zone time and cycle play, but even on a night like Monday when that was hard to come by at times, they were still able to create chances and score thanks to high-skill plays from the likes of DeBrusk and Pastrnak.
"We're lucky here. We have some high-end hockey players," Montgomery said. "When you score goals like they did tonight, those are difference-makers. That's what allows you to win games when you don't have your best game: Those difference-makers make things happen."
Now, those caveats. One: It's still very early. Two: Three of the 16 goals have been empty-netters. Three: The defenses they've faced haven't exactly been the Scott Stevens-era Devils. The Capitals were banged up and were a middle-of-the-pack defensive team last year. The Coyotes are barely an NHL team, although they did just beat the Maple Leafs (go ahead, get a good laugh in before continuing). The Panthers started Monday's game with just five defensemen, and then went down to four when Aaron Ekblad got hurt.
But for all those caveats on one side, you can just as easily point out that the Bruins are far from full strength right now, too. Imagine what this offense could look like when you add in Marchand's elite skill and McAvoy and Grzelcyk's ability to drive play from the back end.
The Bruins aren't going to average 5.33 goals per game forever. But considering that the early-season bar -- at least the one set by those of us on the outside -- was to just survive until Marchand and McAvoy return, the Bruins are soaring over that bar with ease so far.
