It remains to be seen if we’re going to receive some sense of finality for the 2019-20 NHL season — a campaign filled with plenty of promise for a motivated Bruins club.
Even if the Bruins are able to see this year through and get another shot at competing for a Stanley Cup, there stands a chance that the remaining 10-12 games on the regular-season slate could be wiped out in favor of a larger playoff format.
As such, we thought now would be a perfect time to revisit our extensive list of stats, facts and predictions that dropped at the outset of the regular season back in October.
While we revisited a few of these back in January, we figured now would be a perfect time to see just how many of these factoids and underlying numbers ended up defining what we already know about a loaded Bruins roster.
For Part 1 of our annual review, click here:
Let's get started on Part II:
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253:
that the Bruins lost to injury in 2018-19:
While Boston is already dealing with injuries going into the new season with the likes of Moore, Miller and Nordstrom banged up, the B’s will have their fingers crossed that key cogs like Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak and more can avoid getting bit by the injury bug.
252 total man-games lost to injury
Kevan Miller
John Moore
Connor Clifton
7.00: The 5v5 goals for per 60 minutes rate of the DeBrusk-Krejci-Kuhlman line in 2018-19
We’ve tossed this stat out quite a bit when it comes to highlighting the impact that Kuhlman had on Boston’s second line — and for good reason, because it’s a *bananas* nugget of information. While Kuhlman may not project as a top-six winger, the Minnesota Duluth product’s speed and underrated shot allowed him to hit the ground running with Krejci and Co. last year, with the 74-46-83 line ultimately tallying eight 5v5 goals in just 68 minutes of TOI together.
Jack Studnicka
15: The number of points David Pastrnak accrued through the first 10 games of the 2018-19 season
If Pastrnak gets off to a similarly fast start in 2019-20, he would become the fifth player in franchise history to record at least 15 points in his first 10 team games multiple times with the Bruins, joining
Bobby Orr
(1969-70,1971-72, 1973-74, 1974-75),
Phil Esposito
(1970-71, 1971-72, 1973-74, 1974-75),
Bill Cowley
(1940-41, 1943-44, 1944-45) and
Adam Oates
(1992-93, 1993-94).
Cam Neely
7: The number of times I misspell Urho Vaakanainen in a story this season
Apologies in advance to my editors. Might have to get used to it, because I wouldn’t be surprised if Vaakanainen begins pushing for an NHL spot if he thrives down in Providence, especially after the first 2-3 months of the AHL campaign.
Jeremy Lauzon
100: Brad Marchand’s point total in 2018-19
If Marchand manages to pass the century mark once again, he will join Peter Mahovlich (1974-75 and 1975-76) as just the second player in League history to record their first two 100-point campaigns in their 10th season or later.
Evgeni Malkin
Artemi Panarin.
62.86: The Corsi For Percentage of a D pairing of Charlie McAvoy-Matt Grzelcyk during the preseason
It will be interesting to see if Cassidy opts to put these BU products back together at some point during the regular season, because there’s a ton of tantalizing potential with this duo. This combination was a puck-possession monster over two preseason games, with Boston holding a 44-26 edge in shot attempts during the pairing’s 33:37 of 5v5 TOI. Pretty impressive stuff, considering the pairing only had 20% of its faceoffs come in the offensive zone.
.868%: Jaroslav Halak’s save percentage on high-danger shots in 2018-19
5th in save percentage (.921)
8th in goals saved above average (23.25)
4th in high-danger save percentage (.845)
5.97: Tuukka Rask’s goals saved above average during the 2019 postseason – tops among all netminders
While Boston came up just three periods short of hoisting the Stanley Cup back in June, it’s hard to fault Rask’s performance throughout the postseason, with the veteran netminder closing out the Bruins’ run with a .934 save percentage and two shutouts over 24 playoff outings — leading all goalies during that stretch with a goals saved above average mark of 5.97. When looking for the source of Rask’s lockdown play in the postseason, the netminder himself would tell you that a huge portion of the credit has to go to a player that didn’t log a single minute of playoff action in Jaroslav Halak — who allowed Rask to stay fresh by appearing in 40 games during the regular season in a backup role.
Connor Hellebuyck
1st in save percentage (.929)
1st in goals saved above average (22.56)
2nd in high-danger save percentage (.849)
60: The number of points I’m predicting Charlie Coyle surpasses in 2019-20:
Danton Heinen: 390:10 of ice time together
Anders Bjork: 383:13 of ice time together
Jake DeBrusk: 362:19 of ice time together
David Krejci: 198:46 of ice time together
Chris Wagner: 148:33 of ice time together
David Backes: 104:30 of ice time together
Sean Kuraly: 100:27 of ice time together
Brad Marchand: 92:15 of ice time together
David Pastrnak: 72:52 of ice time together
Joakim Nordstrom: 72:46 of ice time together
Karson Kuhlman: 69:54 of ice time together
Peter Cehlarik: 57:10 of ice time together
Marcus Johansson: 54:24 of ice time together
Zach Senyshyn.
0.95: Connor Clifton’s Goals Against Per 60 minutes rate in 2018-19
While Carlo led all NHL defensemen in GA/60 (min. 1,200 5v5 minutes), Clifton also excelled in keeping the puck out of the net under a smaller sample size. While “Cliffy Hockey” often has Clifton lining up skaters for big hits and jumping up in the O-zone, Clifton has very strong defensive instincts for a young player thrown into the NHL ranks last season. Look for him to form a strong third D pairing with Grzelcyk this season.
Jeremy Lauzon
157: The number of 5v5 goals that Boston scored during the 2018-19 regular season
“While Boston has a considerable amount of firepower up front and one of the top power-play units in the NHL, Boston labored at times when it came to producing during 5v5 play last year. Cassidy mentioned that rebound retrieval in the offensive zone dipped quite a bit for his club last season, and will be emphasized this year as a way to get the B’s generating more sustained pressure in the opposition’s side of the ice.”
with 141 5v5 tallies through 70 games
5: The number of Bruins defensemen that have tallied 60 points or more in a single season:
The list? Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Brad Park, Carol Vadnais and Mike O’Connell. If he’s able to avoid the injury bug, look for Krug to join this list during the 2019-20 season.
15: The number of shorthanded goals that Boston surrendered in 2018-19
While the Bruins boast one of the top power-play units in the NHL, it still does have its warts, especially when it comes to relinquishing back-breaking shorthanded tallies down the other end of the ice. Cassidy has noted that his PP1 unit tends to operate with plenty of “risk”, so expect a fair share of chances against once again in 2019-20. If it continues to become a serious flaw, look for Boston to roll out another D on the blue line with Krug.
seven shorthanded goals relinquished
21:05: Zdeno Chara’s average TOI in 2019-20:
“Chara might continue to defy Father Time, but the Bruins are doing their best to ease their captain’s minutes in what is his 22nd season in the NHL. Chara’s TOI in 2019 was his lowest since he averaged 18:54 as a 21-year-old skater with the Islanders back in 1998-99. Don’t be surprised if Chara’s minutes hover below 20 minutes per game as Boston looks to keep him fresh.”
500: The amount of extra seats added to TD Garden this season by way of a massive renovation undertaking
THIS