There’s getting hot at the right time, and then there’s the Boston Bruins that have been on fire for more than half the season. While the Bruins haven’t been getting the headlines that the Vegas Golden Knights have, who lead the Western Conference with 56 points, their rise to second in the Atlantic Division has been just as impressive.
Morning Skate: Goaltending, offensive depth are helping the Boston Bruins soar
The Bruins have gone from ineffective to red hot over their last 20 games.
Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images
In their last 21 games, the Bruins are 16-3-2 and still rolling through the new year. They’ve hit 50 points on the season thanks to a win Tuesday night against the New York Islanders and now are 10 points behind the Atlantic’s top team, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Lace ’em up. Time for the Morning Skate.
Part of that falls on the shoulders of goaltender Tuukka Rask. The 30-year-old netminder started the season cold, as he entered Thanksgiving with a .899 save percentage. Since, he’s raised his average to a .925 and the Bruins are the NHL’s fourth-best team in goals allowed with only 95 on the season.
The Bruins’ success can also be boiled down to their incredible first line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak. The trio is one of the best lines in the NHL, and they lead the team in points with 34, 26, and 35 points, respectively. Contributions from young players like Danton Heinen, Charlie McAvoy, and Jake Debrusk have also made the Bruins an offensive force to reckon with.
We’re just at the halfway point of the 2017-18 NHL season, and the pace the Bruins have been on has been quite incredible given how they started the year.
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