There's A Lotta Hockey Left But The Bruins Are King Shit Right Now
My compadre Marina never sleeps when it comes to Bruins shenanigans and shared these shots of a very happy Bruins bunch. The Bs had a perfectly-timed break after Friday's win to enjoy a festive Halloween weekend and, perhaps subtly, feel pretty damn good about where they stand as the calendar turns to November.
After nine games, Boston leads the NHL in points and points percentage, has the #2 point man, a budding Vezina candidate, perhaps the best depth in the league, and that's all without top-flight D-man Charlie McAvoy, who will be returning to the line-up soon.
If you peruse the plentiful pre-season prognostications, you'll see the Black 'n Gold get their props but most wags had them sniffing a Wild Card spot. Instead, on the first of November NHL observers are marveling at the job Jim Montgomery has done in his return to a NHL bench. He's been near-perfect conducting one of the deepest rosters in the NHL, rejuvenating both old vets and young bucks in an atmosphere free of the 'please-don't-let-me-fuck-up' egg-shell walking and stick-squeezing that became the norm under Bruce Cassidy. The team is much looser and just having fun right now. It's good to see again.
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Here's a few more buds for your bowl...
*I don't know what the hell Don Sweeney is waiting for. David Pastrnak has been a NHL superstar for years now. $11M per is the low-end at this point. And the longer the GM waits, the bigger the price gets for the charismatic and lovable Czech who loves to play for the Bruins and wants to stay. And once the chickens come home to roost on those non-existent draft picks, you're gonna need a super-duper-star to get 'em in to the Cinderblock Palace above the train station.
*I give Sweeney shit but I also give him his due. I liked the Linus Ullmark deal when it was signed and it looks even better now. He's been nothing short of stellar while solidifying himself as the #1 Buffalo once banked on. And they have him for two more years at $5M per. Jeremy Swayman's had a hiccup or two but if ever there's an ideal time to work out the kinks, it's now.
*What more can we say about the MVP-caliber performance we get from Brad Marchand in this town? He came back way ahead of schedule from surgery on his 34-year-old hips and dipsy-do'd his way around the Detroit Red Wings, potting two goals and assisting on another in a 5-1 Bs win. The guy is unreal.
*Kudos to McAvoy for paying tribute to the late Robbie Coltrane with a pretty sweet get-up.
*The addition of David Krejci has been even better than expected. After a year in his homeland, some were skeptical about what the crafty pivot still had left. The answer is plenty. He's still a point-per-game-stud that gives Boston arguably the best 1-2 punch up the middle in the NHL. And a healthy Nick Foligno has been a beast on the fourth line and he's already passed last year's goal total. Even in this miserable town, there's nothing to bitch about.
*There's a lotta puck left and shit to go down. But right now? The Bs look pretty fucking good.