Bruins’ hot start will be put to the test with three tough road games this week originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins are the best team in the NHL as the calendar turns to November.
While the B’s were predicted to remain a playoff contender during the 2022-23 season, few could have predicted the team would play this well over the first few weeks of the season, especially with top defenseman Charlie McAvoy and last year’s leading scorer Brad Marchand missing at least the first two weeks.
But the B’s have played fantastic in just about every facet and enter Tuesday with a 8-1-0 record (best through nine games in franchise history) and a league-high 16 points.
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The Bruins rank No. 2 in goals scored (24), No. 7 in shot-attempt percentage (52.81), No. 8 in shots for percentage (53.60) and No. 5 in scoring-chance percentage (55.0) at 5-on-5. Boston also has allowed the third-fewest 5-on-5 goals (15) and goaltender Linus Ullmark is an early candidate for the Vezina Trophy with a 6-0-0 record, a .945 save percentage and a 1.70 GAA. The Bruins have the second-best penalty kill at 93.9 percent as well.
This hot start will be put to the test this week because the schedule is about to get a lot harder for the Bruins with three tough road matchups against top-tier Eastern Conference teams.
The first matchup is Tuesday night at the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Similar to the Bruins, the Penguins have run it back with their veteran championship core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Malkin and Letang were re-signed over the offseason. The Penguins have lost four consecutive games entering Tuesday, so the Bruins should face a pissed off Pittsburgh team at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins are a strong 5-on-5 team with a ton of high-end offensive skill. Crosby is off to a fantastic start with 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in nine games. Bruins center Patrice Bergeron likely will be matched up with Crosby whenever possible as Boston tries to slow down the Penguins’ first line.
The second difficult game of the week is Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, where the Bruins play the Rangers for the first time this season. The Rangers are 5-3-2 (second in Metropolitan Division) with arguably the league’s best goalie in Igor Shesterkin, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2021-22 and still hasn’t lost in regulation this season (5-0-2). The Bruins went 1-1-1 versus the Rangers last year.
The final matchup of the week is a fun one. The Bruins travel to Toronto to play a Maple Leafs squad that is ultra talented but has underwhelmed for most of the season. Reigning Hart Trophy and Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews scored just one goal in his first seven games, but he’s heated up of late with two goals in his last three matchups. He’s one of the top-five offensive players in the league and a tough matchup for the Bruins. Matthews has torched the B’s in his career with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 12 career regular season games. Toronto owned Boston in 2021-22 with a 3-0-0 record and a 16-8 goal differential.
The Bruins’ start to the season has been quite impressive. The team is playing with more pace and a more aggressive style offensively without sacrificing too much of its typical defensive prowess, and that’s a testament to new head coach Jim Montgomery. Boston has played six of its nine games at home, which has helped, but this group also is 4-0-0 against teams that made the playoffs last season.
This week is by far the toughest stretch of the season so far, and it should help us make a deeper assessment of what this team is truly capable of doing.
