3 Common Misconceptions About the Boston Bruins This Season
What are three misconceptions about the Boston Bruins early in the 2024-25 season?
As bad as things were at the start of the season for the Boston Bruins, they could be in a lot worse of a position during the three-day holiday break than they currently are. Sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division, they are on the heels of the Toronto Maple Leafs, while trying to fend off the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators.
Since GM Don Sweeney fired Jim Montgomery back in November, the Black and Gold have played better under interim coach Joe Sacco and they have moved up in the standings. You can't deny that they are playing better in all areas of the game over the last month, but that does tend to happen following a coaching change. It's just sports.
Is the 2024-25 version of the Boston Bruins good enough to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs? We will find out, but if there is one thing that we have learned recently, is that when they play their game, they can battle with anyone. With that said, here a three common misconceptions about the Bruins this season.
1. Bruins can't beat playoff calibar teams
Some fans and even some writers have made it a point to make everyone aware that the Bruins have struggled against teams in playoff positioning. That was the case under Montgomery, however, under Sacco, they have fared much better against teams in postseason positioning. Their most recent outing on Monday night was a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals, one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. I get it, the Caps didn't have Alex Ovechkin, but Boston lost David Pastrnak in the second period of a 1-1 game with an injury and found a way to grind out a win with three third-period goals.
On their recent five-game road trip, they picked up a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. They had an impressive win over the Colorado Avalanche on the road back in October and they also have an overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. They are playing much better and if not for a late-game letdown against the Edmonton Oilers last week, they would have picked up a win over the defending Western Conference champs instead of losing in overtime. Hey, the loser points add up after a while.
2. Jeremy Swayman was overpaid
All off-season, the one topic hovering around the Bruins was the contract negotiations with goalie Jeremy Swayman. They entered camp without him and to compound matters, Sweeney traded Linus Ullmark back in June to the Ottawa Senators. Montgomery had to go through camp without Ullmark and Swayman while rolling out a Joonas Korpisalo and Brandon Bussi combo.
As the Bruins were getting ready to board a flight to South Florida in October for the season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, Swayman and the club agreed on a contract. As expected, the former University of Maine standout struggled mightly to begin the season, but over the last month, he has rounded into form.
He is 12-10-3 on the season with a 3.05 GAA and a .887 SV%, but since the coaching change, he is 8-2-1 under Sacco and playing much better. After his slow start to the season, you knew that eventually he was going to turn things around and he has. Has he been perfect? No, and he would be the first to admit that he would like to have a few goals back, but it's different for both Swayman and Korpisalo when their teammates are playing better in front of them and staying out of the penalty box. Over time, he'll prove that he is worth $8.25 million a year and is the future between the pipes in Boston.
3. Bruins return for Linus Ullmark was a disaster
To say that the return for Ullmark at the time was somewhat underwhelming would be an understatement. Part of the reason why it was what it was, Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic, and a 2024 first-round draft pick, was because Ullmark was not going to Ottawa with an extension done. If one was reached, then you're looking at a bigger return (maybe Jakob Chychrun?). Instead, the return is turning into a good one near the halfway mark of the 2024-25 season.
Korpisalo was a disaster last season with the Senators and when he was part of the return, a lot of people said why? Well, Sweeney must have thought that Bruins goalie coach Bob Essensa would be able to work his magic with Korpisalo and so far, he has. This season, Korpisalo is 7-3-1 with a 2.42 GAA and a .907 SV% with a pair of shutouts. The season-opener against Florida was a bad one, allowing four first-period goals, but he has rebounded nicely and going in the right direction under Essensa to date.
Kastelic has been a big part of the bottom six and he was part of a fourth line with John Beecher and Cole Koepke who was the Bruins best line early in the season. They brought energy, and production and did all the little things that a fourth-line is expected to do. Without them, who knows where the Black and Gold would have been? As far as getting a first-round draft pick, Sweeney used it to select Boston College forward Dean Letourneau and he has been impressive in his first season with the Eagles.
Is everything all well and good with the Bruins at the break? No, but they are certainly playing their best hockey of the season in all areas and doing it the way they expected to do it, grinding out low-scoring games and getting the occasional five-goal outburst. There is a long way to go in the season, but things are certainly in a better spot today than they were just over a month ago. The 82-game season is a long grind and they are proof of that.
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