As Bruins prepare for second half, here are five things to focus on

The second half of the season officially begins for the Bruins on Monday when they host the Dallas Stars in a 1 p.m. matinee at TD Garden in game No. 42. Prior to that, Boston comes off its bye week with a game against the Canadiens at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Bell Centre in Montreal.

At the break, the Bruins were playing well with an 11-1-3 record in their last 15 games, and have earned points in 11 straight (8-0-3). Boston’s schedule is tight out of the chute, playing five games in eight days, including three against the Canadiens.

The Bruins have become a playoff contender and fans should be excited about this team’s potential moving forward.

Here are five things to focus on for the remainder of the season and possibly into the Stanley Cup playoffs.



Goalie tandem: After a slow start to the season, starter Tuukka Rask has been outstanding of late. He currently has a career-best 13-game point streak with an 11-0-2 record during this span. He was critical of his performance during Sunday’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, which is a good sign because that means his confidence is high and expects more of his game. It’ll be interesting to see if Bruce Cassidy decides to start Rask against the Habs on Saturday, given his sub-par success against the rivals. In 26 games against Montreal, he’s 7-15-3 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. Since he’s playing well of late, if Rask starts and beats the Canadiens, it could serve as another confidence boost for the second half. Overall, the original plan was for Rask to play between 55-60 games this season, with backup Anton Khudobin anywhere between 22-27. At this point, Rask has played 27 games (26 starts) and Khudobin has 15 games (14 starts). If Rask plays another 28 games that will bring his total to 55 games, which means Khudobin lands at 28. Obviously, it all depends on how well the team is playing and the schedule. If it all works out and the Bruins earn a postseason berth, Rask should be fresh for the playoffs.

Top line: Think about these seasonal totals for a moment: Patrice Bergeron has 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 points in 35 games. Brad Marchand has 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points in 32 games, while David Pastrnak has 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points in 40 games. That trio has been the Bruins’ best line to this point and there’s no reason to think that will change. Those numbers could be even better if Marchand didn’t miss eight games with a concussion. At the start of the season, Pastrnak was original slated to play with David Krejci, but Cassidy was forced to load up the top line for production purposes due to injuries. That trio of Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak has been so good it’ll be difficult for Cassidy to make any changes, unless the current all-around production starts to go south and he wants to regain a more balanced offensive attack.

Bottom six: Boston’s bottom six hasn’t been this strong since the team won the Cup in ’11 and return to the finals in ’13. A major reason for that is veteran David Backes. He’s healthy and playing the right side, along with center Riley Nash and rookie winger Danton Heinen. That third line has been producing at both ends of the ice, but its offensive contributions have been crucial. The same can be said for the fourth unit of Tim Schaller, Sean Kuraly and Noel Acciari. Cassidy is comfortable putting both of those lines on the ice at crucial moments of the game, especially in the waning minutes. In order for a team to enjoy a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, its bottom six have to be reliable and so far the Bruins have been able to roll four lines on a consistent basis during the team’s recent run of success.

Rookie response: Imagine for a second being a 20- or 21-year-old kid with five days off from school or work. What would you do? . . . Exactly. So, it’s going to be interesting to see how the likes of Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk, Heinen and Brandon Carlo respond after the bye week. By all indications based on the first half of the season, the rookie class is responsible and dedicated. That needs to continue during the break because those players need to be ready for a tough schedule for the remainder of the season. On the ice, the younger core has dealt with the normal ebbs and flows, but it has been impressive of late. It was actually a good thing that the entire team faced adversity at the start of the season, especially the rookies, because now they understand what it takes to compete and be successful at this level on a daily basis. It’s going to be interesting to see how the rookie class is handling everything come April 8, which is the last game of the regular season.

Trade deadline: If the trade deadline was tomorrow and not Feb. 26, I would venture an educated guess that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney would be relatively quiet, because the team is playing so well and the chemistry in the room is solid. That’s not to say he won’t attempt to make the team better if a scenario presents itself, but don’t think he’s going to start selling off organizational assets just because the Bruins finally have depth. If the organization believes it has the ability for a deep playoff run, Sweeney could try to add a top-four defender, possibly a left-handed shot. The idea of also adding a veteran power forward to the mix, maybe someone like the Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds, who becomes a free agent after the 2018-19 season and currently has a cap hit of $3.975. Again, just thinking out loud, but a player that like could pay dividends in a perfect situation.