Eight games and five weeks into the campaign the Bruins are off to a nice 6-2-0 start while playing only 8 games, the fewest in the NHL so far thanks to their trip across the Atlantic. Most of the questions that were hanging around the Boston club have been answered in the early season, although the season is still young. Newcomer Nathan Horton (5-4=9) shares the team lead in points with the Matrix (2-7=9), and rookie forwards Tyler Seguin and Jordan Caron are tied for 3rd with 3 goals each. The top line of Horton, David Krejci and Milan Lucic looks pretty scary so far this season with a combined 26 points (3.25 per game). They may not be the best top line statistically but they aren't leaned on as heavily to produce because of the depth and because of that their time on ice isn't that high. Going down the line we see winger Michael Ryder (2-3=5), who although may not be a top scorer has been playing fairly well considering he almost got sent to Providence to pull his head out of his ass...I would love to see the production pick up for him moving forward. When I met Blake Wheeler at a players meet and greet he seemed to tower over Matt Hunwick and Greg Campbell so reinforcing the idea that he really needed to pick up his physical game to be productive was again brought front and center as something to check off for season expectations. Although with only 2 helpers through his 8 games played he may not be where he wants you can tell that he has made a point to pick up his physical game...finishing checks and attempting to get to the front of the net. No goals so far, but patience is the key here, and I'm sure Claude Julien is telling him to keep doing what he's doing. Another winger in an early season scoring drought is the ageless Mark Recchi, although with 5 assists there's no complaints here I'm just glad that he's still out there doing what he loves and helping the youngsters on the team grow and develop.
Losing Johnny Boychuk and his huge shot for a month or so certainly isn't a good thing however the D are looking pretty good protecting leads and doing enough to support the offense, and you can only imagine that captain Zdeno Chara and co. will pick up the offensive numbers so far...it's not worth worrying about right now. The main thing when you look at the goals allowed statistic (11 goals in 8 games) is the play of 2008-2009 Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas behind the pipes. The subject of many trade talks over the summer so that the Bruins could free up some money has now stolen back the number one tender spot in Beantown...at least for now. Projected number one Tuukka Rask has been riding the pine with only two of the eight starts...both losses. You can read that and think all you want but I'm not worrying in the least however you know Tim Thomas will continue to start as long as he's hot. Both of his losses can't be blamed on Rask as the team has played MUCH better in front of T squared instead of the young Finn. His last loss to the Rangers came at the hands of deflections and own goals so once again...not too worried and it's quite a nice problem to have, people should be excited about the options in net instead of waiting for Thomas to decline and Rask to take over the reins.
The rest of the Northeast division doesn't look too scary right now so by the time the 82 game schedule comes to a close I would HOPE that the Bruins would be one of the top three teams in the east...although still plenty of season left to be played. The Buffalo Sabres have joined the New Jersey Devils as the biggest busts of the Eastern Conference so far. Ryan Miller is dealing with a nagging lower body injury and the rest of the team just looks...blah. They won't stay at this dismal pace throughout the season but remember a good start always helps pace a team through the season. Another slightly underachieving team comes out of Ottawa where the Senators stand a game below .500. Daniel Alfredsson is doing his best to keep his club above water, and there is still a question about the goaltending, however they aren't in a terrible position so far. This division isn't the best in the league however it was projected to be one of the more competitive with all five teams expected to win a fair amount of games...except hopefully that team up in Toronto. I have nothing against that club but as a Boston sports fan they jump into the one year doghouse along with the Raiders (Phil Kessel and Richard Seymour trades respectively). The rest of the East has some early season surprises as well as the Tampa Bay Lightning sit atop the Conference standings although I can't say I'm too surprised with the dynamic offense that they have down in the Tampa heat. They have slightly more stability in goal from last year with newly acquired Dan Ellis making his case to stay the number 1 (Mike Smith is 4-0 but his numbers are terrible), hopefully the team can start playing better in front of Ellis however. Rangers are staying strong through their injuries (Chris Drury & Marian Gaborik), Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, and Artem Anisimov have all chipped in to compensate for the loss of their high profile stars and the strong play of Henrik Lundqvist always helps. Going down the list we see teams like the Penguins who have some huge questions of their own and the Capitals who have still not peaked, I know it's quite scary, also that team down in Philly, the Habs and the Thrashers are all trying to prove themselves and stay above that 8th seed mark.
Although the East is slowly improving it's a well known fact that the Western Conference is by far the superior conference...although the results of three out of the last four all star games beg to differ. New acquisition Jaroslav Halak is making Canadiens fans question why Carey Price is still in town leading the Blues to a fast start in the extremely tough Central division, and in my opinion are the hottest team in the NHL right now. The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, sit atop that Central division although with 14 games played only have 15 points to show (in comparison the Bruins have played 8 games and have 12 points). At times the team has looked sluggish and at times they have looked unbeatable, but it is no surprise as good chunk of the roster that allowed them to hoist the coveted 34 and half pound cup last year is missing. Marty Turco has come into town and played pretty well as an aging goaltender, but the pieces of the puzzle that were there last year may not be present to lock in another stanley cup run. The story of a lot of other Western conference teams lies in the goaltending, whether it be underachieving or overachieving performances in net. Roberto Luongo, Miikka Kiprusoff, and projected number one Antti Niemi have all not lived up to season expectations so far, and they will have to find their groove soon in order to keep their teams on top in the West.
A few weeks into the season and things are already very interesting...Tim Thomas is leading almost all the major goaltending categories and Patrick Sharp is leading the league in goals although things will pan out differently over the season you can still say it has been quite an interesting start to the year...hopefully things continue to stay just as interesting moving forward...until next time.
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