Bruins continue to stockpile points despite not playing their best

Based purely on the NHL standings, the Bruins are without a doubt the best team in the league.

Following Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Sabres, the B's increased their point total to 60 in 36 games played, six points clear of the next-best team.

However, the Bruins haven't exactly run opposing teams out of the building of late. Over their last seven wins, the B's have only won by more than two goals once, with one of those victories coming via shootout.

This isn't to say the B's are playing poorly, because they objectively aren't, but the Bruins are starting to slow down from their record-setting pace from the start of the season.

Yet, the Bruins are still finding ways to stay atop the standings. In the month of December, the B's loss to the Coyotes was the only game throughout the 14-game slate in which they didn't earn at least one point.

The mark of a strong hockey team is one that can pull out points when they don't deserve to if this season's Bruins have proved anything through the first three months of the season, it is just that.

"We all knew that we had to be a little bit better and we just put a really good push on," Brad Marchand told reporters after the OT loss to the Sabres. "Once we got that goal to tie it up we all got a lot of little extra motivation, extra hunger, unfortunately we kind of dropped the ball there late."

Marchand was one of the offensive catalysts against the Sabres as No. 63's filthy goal allowed the B's to earn a point in the back-and-forth affair.

Coupled with the Bruins' ability to steal points is their uncanny ability to play their best hockey in the third period.

Saturday, the B's trailed by a goal heading into the third until their leaders stepped up to make it a wild finish. The Bruins have the best goal differential in the league and a large chunk of those tallies have come in the final frame.

First-year head coach Jim Montgomery has also played a vital role in the Bruins' impressive playing style as the former Maine Black Bear captain has brought a fresh approach.

After the loss to the Sabres, Montgomery took some blame for the outcome when the Bruins were unable to convert on a length man-advantage that would have all but assured the B's a victory.

"Our spacing wasn't ideal, our shot selection wasn't ideal, I thought we should have gone down low with it and that's where I should have gone over the sequence with the players because we haven't had a 5-on-3 in a while," Montgomery said.

With the NHL's signature event of the Winter Classic on the horizon, the Bruins will have a chance to show the entire league just how strong of a team they are when they suit up opposite the Penguins at Fenway Park on Monday.

"We have a great opportunity ahead of us," Marchand said. "Everyone has a ton of family here and we're all looking forward to getting out [at Fenway on Sunday] and get it out of the way."

More likely than not, the Bruins will walk out of the historic ballpark higher in the standings than when they walked in.