If the first month is any indication how the rest of the season will play out for the Boston Bruins, then it’s going to be an extremely interesting year.
The Bruins posted a 4-3-3 record for 11 points in October, but it wasn’t only the wins and loses that were concerning. Boston had a total of 38 man-games lost in the first 10 games of the season. A total of 11 players were sidelined either due to injury or illness. It didn’t help that Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Tuukka Rask, Torey Krug, Kevan Miller, Adam McQuaid, David Backes, Noel Acciari, Ryan Spooner and Anton Khudobin all missed time.
Only 10 players played all 10 games in October and the transactions were plentiful.
As the season enters November, the Bruins posted a solid 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday night at TD Garden. Despite all the adversity the team has already dealt with, Bruce Cassidy described the formula the Bruins need to play with in order to be successful in these circumstances.
A top line that produces, along with “goaltending and special teams,” Cassidy said. “Then you hope the rest of the group can contribute 200-foot games and chip in secondary scoring. That’s a realistic way to win games. There will be times when it might not look pretty, but if we can get through those stretches, play through them then get back on our game and (Thursday) was a good example.”
After the first month, there’s a different kind of dynamic on and off the ice for the Bruins. Most of that has to do with the fact that there are six rookies on the team. Plus, Cassidy is in his first full season as coach. The organizational depth has been on display, which is a good sign, but it’s also where the differences come into play.
The hands-on approach for the young players to learn how to be a pro at this level has been trying at times, but that’s part of the developmental process. Trying to build a successful team, with an already established and successful veteran core with a group of prospects is not an easy task. Those challenges were evident in the first month.
“It was a lot of learning and finding ourselves as well,” said captain Zdeno Chara. “I know it’s early, but you could tell that we had some games that we played really well, and then we had games when we didn’t play well. The message was pretty clear: to win in this league on a consistent basis you have to be playing your best every night – no excuses. You have to be accountable and play to certain standards.”
Prior to Thursday’s game, the Bruins earned points in the previous five games. It wasn’t always pretty but they found a way.
“We have to continue to push ourselves to be better every day and every game,” Chara said. “There are going to be breakdowns. There are going to be some mistakes because it’s a game of mistakes, but it matters how we respond, how we cover each other and how we play.”
Of the six rookies on the current roster, Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk, Anders Bjork, Sean Kuraly and Danton Heinen have been thrust into action. McAvoy, DeBrusk and Bjork are playing prominent roles and have experienced the typical ebbs and flows of a rookie season. Kuraly scored the game-winning goal against Vegas for his first regular-season goal of his NHL career.
"I’ve got to keep it simple and steady," Kuraly said. "We’re missing some key guys and it’s just important for me to try and do my job and not too much and come out of my role."
Chara and the rest of the veterans are showing their patience as that development continues, but the core also isn't afraid to speak their mind.
“It’s a transition for them, as it is for us to have them in the lineup, to have them in the locker room,” Chara said. “It’s been a smooth transition for them and also for us. They’ve done a really good job of buying into it. There have been times where you could tell they’ve been used to doing things a certain way and we need them to be on the same page.
“It’s the same for us. We were not responding to what they were doing on the ice in the right way. Now, it’s closer. We’re starting to jell. It’s something we need to keep working on every day to create that synergy so everything on the ice is automatic.”
What makes this rookie class impressive is it knows it has been terrible at times in the first month of the season. And they understand that will just be part of this learn-as-you-go experience.