Naturally, a lot of doubts surrounded the Boston Bruins going into the 2023–24 season. They lost Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Bertuzzi, David Krejci, and Dmitry Orlov in the offseason. Some were concerned that they would not be a playoff team as a result.
As we go forward to the present, the Bruins are having great success. They now lead the NHL in points with 97 (41-15-15 record), despite their hard-fought loss to the New York Rangers last night.
NHL analyst Elliotte Friedman claims that the Bruins’ excellent season has earned them a great deal of respect from other teams in the league. The well-known insider said the following in his most recent 32 Thoughts column: “Despite Florida having two games remaining, other teams truly acknowledge Boston’s dominance in the east. It’s not surprising that they did that after losing their two best centers.”
The fact that the Bruins are making an impression on their opponents is not shocking. All season long, they have been around the top of the standings and have recovered admirably from the loss of several key players, the most prominent being Bergeron and Krejci.
In the top six center positions, Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha have excelled, and Morgan Geekie has been a wonderful acquisition.
Even though the Bruins are respected throughout the league, they still need to close the season strong if they want to keep their #1 ranking.
