Bruins have gotten off to halting start this season
The Boston Bruins have been one of the most consistent teams in the league for years, but that has not been the case at the start of the 2024-25 season.
The Bruins have lost their touch with the man advantage (11.8 percent, tied for 31st) and killing penalties (75.0 percent, 26th in NHL), after regularly ranking near the top of the rankings in both categories. They have been basically a .500 team this year, two seasons after the Bruins set the record for the most wins and most points in the regular season.
Prior to a come-from-behind win over the St. Louis Blues in mid-November, the Bruins had played poorly in the third period this season. An inability to generate any shots on goal against the Ottawa Senators in the final period led to an overtime loss. The Bruins had also failed to hold on to leads in the third period in multiple games.
This troubling start to the season had led to quite a bit of consternation throughout the team. Most notable was the demeanor of head coach Jim Montgomery, who was no longer the affable bench boss he had been in his first two seasons with the Bruins. As the team struggled to score, Montgomery made multiple line changes on nearly an every-game basis. Many of the moves came with the odor of panic.
There are multiple problem areas with this year's version of the Bruins, but thereise no reason for full-fledged panic. They are in third place in the Atlantic Division with 18 points and still in the playoff structure. They have not come close to playing well, but they still have a greater point total than five other division opponents.
Charlie Coyle is stuck in the mud
Charlie Coyle has been a vital part of the Bruins lineup since he was acquired in a 2018 deal at the trade deadline with the Minnesota Wild. Coyle is a 13-year NHL veteran who grew up in the Boston metropolitan area and has been a consistent producer for them.
The 32-year-old center took on the role of the team's No. 2 center last year following the retirement of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. He performed well with 25 goals and 35 assists and a winning performance in the face-off circle (51.6 percent). Even with his solid season, he finished the year with a minus-2 rating.
That was a career-best performance in goals and points, and that seemed to be a good jumping off point for the 2024-25 season. Instead, Coyle has slumped badly. Through his first 17 games of the season, Coyle has scored 2 goals and assisted on just 1 as the team's center on the third line. He has also struggled at the faceoff circle, as his win percentage has dipped to 47.8 percent.
His 200-foot game has also suffered as Coyle already has a minus-8 rating, and that is simply not acceptable
Coyle is an important part of the team's offensive production. The Bruins need him to regain his scoring touch and he must pick it up in the faceoff circle.
David Pastrnak has not been at his best
David Pastrnak is clearly the Bruins best and most explosive offensive player. He is one of the league's superstars, having scored a career-best 61 goals and 113 points in the 2022-23 season. He has also scored 40 goals or more three other times in his career.
The 28-year-old has been a dominant scorer since the 2016-17 season. He combines a shooter's mentality with excellent skating ability and a booming shot. His one-timer from the left face-off circle is his signature and Pastrnak can also dangle with the most dangerous players in the league.
The Bruins expect leadership and dominant scoring from Pastrnak on an every-night basis.
He leads the Bruins in scoring with 7 goals and 9 assists through the first 17 games, but he has not been at his best. He has been careless with the puck and given it away 28 times already. Pastrnak has looked surprised from time to time when a puck comes his way.
He was benched in the third period of Boston's November 3 2-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken after a notable turnover.
“That was a bad turnover … I just want to move forward,” Pastrnak said, per Boston.com's Conor Ryan. “I don't want to be any distraction to our team. The guys know how I feel about them here. It's a bad play. I take accountability and already moving forward.”
He admitted it was a poor play on his part, but the decision to bench a legitimate superstar may linger the rest of the season.
Goalie Joonas Korpisalo has played well
The Bruins broke up their elite goaltending duo of recent seasons when they traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators and made Jeremy Swayman the team's primary goaltender.
Swayman is the team's clear No. 1 goalie while Joonas Korpisalo is the No. 2 netminder. He was acquired by the Bruins in the Ullmark trade. Korpisalo is a well-traveled goaltender, having made previous stops with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings and the Senators before coming to Boston.
Korpisalo got the start for the Bruins in the season opener against the Florida Panthers because Swayman had just returned from a preseason holdout. Korpisalo gave up 6 goals on 35 shots and generally looked ordinary in the defeat at the hands of the Stanley Cup champions.
However, Korpisalo has bounced back nicely since that game. He has a 3-2 record in his 5 starts with a 2.72 goals against average, a .900 save percentage and 1 shutout.
He appears to be a solid partner for Swayman, and he has regularly done the job. Both goaltenders had some troubles early in the season but they have improved after a somewhat shoddy start.
“He’s made a lot of saves already this year, as has [Joonas] Korpisalo,” said Montgomery. “We feel our goaltending has been really good. We’ve got to keep building in all the other areas.”
Korpisalo must continue to play consistently if the Bruins are going to get back on track in the 2024-25 season.
