With a 6-4 win over Ottawa last Thursday, the Bruins finished the first half of the 2008-09 NHL season. And what a fist half it has been. Through the first 41 games the B’s sit atop the Eastern Conference, all while bring back remembrance of the big bad Black and Gold of days past. While the Bruins were filling the net with a league leading 154 goals, the fans were filling the seats and getting their money’s worth. Big hits, big goals, and fights galore reminded fans of the Bruins of the past. Whether it’s Milan Lucic doing his best Cam Neely impersonation, or Phil Kessel lighting the lamp in the same fashion Phil Esposito once did, your Boston Bruins are back in the main stay of Boston sports.

At this point last year, not much was said about the Bruins. They were just another professional team in Boston and very ordinary in the NHL. All the story lines were on the Patriots going for a perfect season while in the playoffs, the Celtics Big Three tarring apart the NBA, and Hot Stove reports surrounding the Red Sox.  It wasn’t for another couple of months later when the Bruins gave the city a glimpse of what hockey was going to be like from there on out. The B’s got Causeway St. excited about hockey again with an amazing game 6 win over the Habs in last years Stanley Cap playoffs. Losing game seven was only part of the foundation set by the Bruins, as a number of their young nucleus got to experience the NHL playoffs for the first time.

Now let’s take a look at just how far they have come.

Record
 

Anytime you improve from 21 wins to 30 wins from year to year it’s a success. 30 wins in your first 41 is impressive. A plus 18 point differential, shows just how far along the team has come. At home a year ago the Bruins was a solid 11-6-2 and with added emphasis to home ice advantage Boston improved their mark this year to a 15-3-1 record. Away from the Garden this year the B’s improved upon their 10-10-2 2007-08 campaign to a 15-4-3 record.

Power Play

23.9 %  in 2008-09

18.8 %   in 2007-08

This is the stat that could be the difference from a year ago. Last year the power play struggled heavily. Claude Julien was uncertain who to put out their at times. Unless it was a perfect pass from Marc Savard or a booming slapper of the stick of Zdeno Chara, they weren’t scoring. This year couldn’t be more of the opposite with two strong PP units. Savard and Chara both headline the first unit and they have been consistently putting the puck in the net thanks to the addition of sniper Michael Ryder. If they struggle then it’s up to the kids; David Krejci, Phil Kessel, and Milan Lucic/ Blake Wheeler. Through the first half of the season Boston’s PP is ranked third.

Penalty Kill

83% in 2008-09

78% in 2007-08
 

Not giving up goals is just as valuable as scoring them. Many of times last year you had the kids Petteri Nokelainen, Vladimir Sobotka, and David Krejci mix with veterans Glen Metropolit, PJ Axelsson and a Marc Savard. They struggled a bit last year because the kids were still learning how to play the system and Savard was seeing PK time that he had hardly scene before in the NHL. This year with Savard and the kids knowing their responsibilities and the additional of the ultimate professional Stephane Yelle, the PK unit has been better this year. It also helps to have two healthy number one goaltenders backstopping them.

Offense

So long are the days of the Bruins being unable to score enough goals. Last season they struggled to fill the net. Games were won 1-0 or 2-1. The B’s just could muster enough offense to be a legitimate contender only scoring 107 in the first 41 games of 07-08. This season the Bruins come at opponents in waves. Reminding hockey people of the Buffalo Sabres of a couple years ago, sending our four lines that can all score. Through 41 games this year the B’s popped in a second best 149 goals, only trailing the defending Stanley Cup champions the Detroit Red Wings by one goal. Chuck Kobasew led Boston with 14 goals last year at this point. This season the Bruins have three 15 goal scorers; Kessel, Ryder, and Krejci. Is there a more underappreciated line in the league than the line of trio Michael Ryder, David Krejci and Blake Wheeler? They have 46 goals and 58 assists in 42 games. Could be arguably the best line in hockey.

Here are the player comparison stats

Defense

Thomas.jpg" alt="Thomas & Fernandez have kept opposing teams down all year" style="padding: 5px; margin-left: 5px;" />Under Coach Claude Julien, the B’s have always been a good defensive team. Julien’s system just doesn’t allow too many quality chances and the players do a good job of keeping the puck to the outside. There is only a 13 goal differential from this year to last season but the Bruins have been grateful to have two healthy goaltenders playing at their best. Tim Thomas continues to prove everyone wrong as he will be attending his second straight All-Sat game and is among the league leaders in every goaltending statistical category. Not to be out done is the play of Manny Fernandez who some argue should be an All-Star too. He too is amongst the lead leaders in goaltending stats. Add them to a defensive corps that has a great mix of youth and experience, size and skating, and grit and finesse; the result is a league best 93 goals against on the year vs.  last season’s 106.

Team Grade- A

Anything lower than an A at this point would be dumb. A team that has gone from a good story of a year ago to the story of the NHL this season and a legit Stanley Cup contender deserves high marks.

Looking Forward

I don’t foresee a drop off of play; however I do expect Montreal to make a run at them. The question will be can the hold up? My theory is yes. They have a good coaching and a smart group in the front office to potentially add a Keith Tkachuk or another piece for the playoffs. Boston’s organization is just too deep and loaded with young talent who want to prove their NHL worth. Peter Chiarelli has flooded the organization with prospects who can either A) contribute to the long standing success or B) use them to acquire key components to a championship team. Sound familiar? It should, this is percisely the same philosophy that Theo Epstien and the Boston Red Sox use. When comes down to it though, like every NHL team when games matter the most outcomes are determined by goaltending. For the B’s, so far so good in that area.