Through the first 10 games of the 2023-24 regular season, the Boston Bruins sit at 9-0-1 and are one of two teams in the NHL without a regulation loss. The other is the Vegas Golden Knights. If the start to the 2022-23 surprised you, then the start to this season should be even more surprising.
Over the offseason, the Bruins went through some big changes in terms of the roster with players leaving in free agency and retirements. Despite all of that, the Black and Gold have taken advantage of a schedule in October that began with teams that did not make the playoffs last spring, except for the Los Angeles Kings, and won the games they were supposed to. Their last three wins over the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs are impressive wins over teams that is expected to be in the thick of the Eastern Conference race with Boston.
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Ten games into the season, here are three takeaways from the start Jim Montgomery’s team has had.
Poitras, Beecher & Lohrei Look Like They Belong
When the Bruins front office got together following the stunning first-round elimination last spring to the Panthers, general manager (GM) Don Sweeney said that they were hoping that they could add some young players into the lineup. Matthew Poitras and John Beecher solidified the center position out of training camp and Mason Lohrei made his NHL debut against the Maple Leafs on Nov. 2 and was very impressive.
Poitras, whom the Bruins had to decide on after the ninth game on whether or not to keep him or send him back to juniors, has settled into the middle six and the 19-year-old has proved he belongs. On the four-game road trip out West, he scored his first two career goals in a 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks and then scored his third two nights later in a 3-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. His decision-making and vision for the ice has been most impressive for Poitras.
Beecher has settled into the fourth line and is a very good penalty killer. He has won 58% of his faceoffs this season and has impressed with his speed and his work on the defensive end. Lohrei was called up for the Toronto game after Charlie McAvoy was suspended for four games, Matt Grzelcyk was hurt and Derek Forbort nursing an injury. The 6-foot-2 defenseman had a good training camp but went to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) because of a numbers crunch, in his first career game against the Maple Leafs, he had an assist, logged 21:28 in time on ice on the second pairing with Brandon Carlo and was strong in the penalty kill in the second period.
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The Bruins were hoping for an injection of youth this season and Poitras and Beecher have provided that and Lohrei is going to make it tough to send him back to the AHL when the top-six on defense are healthy.
Pavel Zacha Settling in At Center
One of the big questions facing the Bruins this season was how were they going to go about replacing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci as the top two centers. Pavel Zacha has settled into the pivot spot after spending most of last season in the wing and the former New Jersey Devils forward has been hot lately offensively (from ‘Devils trade Pavel Zacha to Bruins for Erik Haula,’ The Athletic, July 13, 2022).
In his last five games, Zacha has four goals and two assists and got the scoring going in their 3-2 shootout win over Toronto on Nov. 2, three nights after scoring the game-winning goal in a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Florida at the TD Garden. He averages just over 19 minutes a night and he has won 50.7% of his faceoffs, something that the Bruins would like to see be a little higher. Zacha playing the way he has been has been a big lift for the Black and Gold.
Swayman & Ullmark Have Keyed Hot Start
This should not come as a surprise, but Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have been just as good as they were in 2022-23. They have alternated each of the first 10 games and expect Montgomery to continue to do that going forward.
Ullmark, who won the Vezina Trophy last season, is 4-0-1 with a 1.77 goals-against average (GVV) and a .939 save percentage (SV%). He has allowed one goal in a game three times and two in another. His highest total of goals allowed was four in a loss to the Ducks. Swayman has better numbers, going 5-0-0 with a 1.38 GAA and a .954 SV%. Three times this season he has allowed two goals in a game, in one game he allowed one, and he shut out Chicago. His best game was Nov. 2 against Toronto when he made 35 saves, many high-danger chances.
It could not be a more perfect start to the season for the Bruins who are going through a change with younger players sliding into the lineup with the veterans and fitting in so well. Grzelcyk is out until the end of November and McAvoy still has three games remaining on his suspension as Boston hits the road to Detroit and Dallas, but so far, this season has been as nearly a perfect start as they could have had.