By: Mike Dunshee
www.mikedunshee.com
The Bruins came out of the all-star break playing much like they went into the break; looking like an overmatched and disinterested squad. After a month and a half of very solid hockey, the Bruins have stumbled badly in the last couple of weeks and all but buried any notions of being a playoff team. With just over three weeks until the trade deadline, there can be almost no doubt that rookie GM Peter Chiarelli will be looking to sell his veteran assets, most notably the San Jose trio of Sturm, Stuart and Primeau, all acquired in the Joe Thornton trade and all unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.
A cursory glance at the standings and one might think that it is too early for the Bruins to pack it in and officially label the season a disappointment; only one game under .500, Boston currently sites 9 points out of the final playoff spot and have 31 games to play. But by doing a little more research and it becomes clear Boston is actually outperforming their expected record. Currently the Bruins have a GF/GA of 144-192, an appalling -48, or nearly one goal less per game than their opponents. In the East, only New Jersey (144) and Philadelphia (130) have scored less and only the Flyers (197) have given up more goals. Given that New Jersey is a famously defensive team (and employ Martin Broduer) and the Flyers are running away with the leagues worst record, these numbers are all the more damning to any Boston playoff aspirations.
The powerplay, lead by free agent acquisitions Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard has been one of the strong suits for the Bruins all year and is currently ranked 7th in the NHL. On the flip side of that, the 13 short handed goals allowed and the most in the NHL, the 79 5 on 5 goals for Boston are the second least in the East (Montreal 76) and the 111 5 on 5 goals allowed are the third most in the East. Finally and perhaps most telling is that the Bruins, owners of a .490 winning percentage are leading the entire NHL with an astounding .682 winning percentage in one goal games. So pretty much what we have is a case of a team that rode a hot goalie for a month and a half and has been getting lucky in close games. Being that Boston has proven about a .500 team this year, there can be no way they can realistically expect to win close games at a nearly 70 percent clip.
With the deadline approaching, the impetus will be on Chiarelli to maximize the return on his soon to be free agents. Boston has a solid nucleus of established stars in Chara, Savard, Bergeron and Murray mixed with promising youngsters like Kessel, Toivonen, Alberts and Chistov. With the right late season moves and astute offseason adjustments, there is enough talent for the team to compete in the near future. All eyes will be on the decision Chiarelli makes as his first trade deadline as a GM approaches.
