Well, the Bruins are in between their twenty and twenty first game which signifies that one quarter of the season is over. That also means that it's time for me to give my marks for the first quarter of the season.
Let's start with the man in charge, coach Claude Julien. Coach Julien deserves nothing less than an A. Every button he pushes seems to be the right one and his team has fully bought into his system. The Bruins are prepared to play each and every night and are no longer just tough to play against but talented as well. Julien has been great with the kids on the team and has gotten more than what is expected. When you look at players like Lucic, Wheeler, Krejci and Nokelainen you have seen their games pick up almost nightly. This is a coach that gets very little respect and if the Bruins keep up this pace it will be the Julien for Coach of the Year campaign and not the Thomas to the All-Star game push.
Coaching Grade: A
I'll now jump to the offense where all I have to say is, wow! The Bruins were one of the worst teams in the NHL last year when it came to finding the back of the net but this year the Bruins are on fire. How good have they been? How about first in the conference in goal scoring.
The leader of course if Marc Savard who leads the way with 27 points. Savard has been so good that he has almost doubled Phil Kessel (15) for the team lead in points. Speaking of Kessel, he has scored 10 goals this season, leading the B's. Kessel, after being benched in the playoffs last year by Julien has been on a tear ever since and it looks like Kessel could be that 30 goal scorer the Bruins have been looking for, for years.
The biggest thing with the Bruins this season is their depth. They have four lines that they can roll out there with confidence. With play makers like Savard, Patrice Bergeron and Krejci up the middle it is no wonder that the Bruins are lighting the lamp a lot more often this season.
OFFENSE: A
Now to the defense. The defense men on the Bruins were questioned from day one. Can Zdeno Chara live up to Norris trophy standards again? Could Dennis Wideman live up to his big off-season contract? Does Aaron Ward have anything left in the tank? Can the 4-6 defense men actually play?
The answers are in and you can answer with a resounding, YES. Zdeno Chara is a rock on the back line and though I'm not as impressed with Chara as I was last season he still is the glue of the defensive unit. Then there's Wideman. Wideman was getting a lot of negative press from the casual Bruins fan saying that he was a much overpaid back liner. However, at the quarter mark, Wideman is the leader in +/- for the Bruins D with a +11. Aaron Ward is getting older at age, 35 but he can still bring it with his famous forearm shivers. Ward is a +6 and looks like he still has enough in the tank to be a solid number three guy for the Bruins. The Bruins were horrible early on the penalty kill but have turned it around and are now getting back to a not great, but respectable 82% on the PK.
Defensive Grade: B+
Now to the goal tending. Leader in Save %, second in GAA, T-2 in shutouts. Those are some solid accomplishments right? Yea, I thought so. Tim Thomas has been a wall at the back line for the Bruins taking the NHL by storm and getting the respect he deserves, right? Wrong, Thomas was left off of the NHL All-Star ballot but due to stellar play is third in the Eastern Conference in All-Star votes for goaltenders. Thomas has been criticized for his unorthodox style but look who's laughing now.
The Bruins came into the season wanting to find a number one goalie and I'd say they found it in Thomas. Then there is the man who was fighting with Thomas for the number one job and was passed over, Manny Fernandez. Fernandez has been solid as well for the Bruins as a number two. Fernandez is 5-1-1 on the season with a GAA of 2.55, and a save percentage of .910. Out of your backup goalie, you can't expect more than that. Although, Fernandez's high cap number does lead one to believe that he should be starting somewhere. Look for the Bruins to try and ship Fernandez out of town at the deadline as his salary will be decreasing by the day. If he keeps up his solid play, a bubble team may be looking for a goaltender to carry them to the promise land. Then of course the Tukka Rask project would begin in the hub.
Goal tending Grade: A-
Well that's it folks the quarterly grades. I know they are high, but hey when you're in first place in the conference you deserve a little bit of love.
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