Last Season: 41-27-14 with 96 points, 5th in the Atlantic Division and 9th in Eastern Conference
The Bruins were a sloppy team last season, and when they missed the playoffs it ultimately cost GM Peter Chiarelli his job. Don Sweeney took over as GM and wasted no time shaking up the core, dealing Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic in separate deals at the NHL draft. The Bruins lacked consistency last year, something evident in their 14 overtime/shootout losses. It will on Tuukka Rask to right the ship if the Bruins have a chance this season, with that being said here is a look at their 2015/2016 Season Preview:
Forwards:
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Loui Eriksson
Matt Beleskey - David Krejci - David Pastrnak
Jimmy Hayes - Ryan Spooner - Brett Connolly
Zac Rinaldo - Chris Kelly - Joonas Kemppainen
Extra: Seth Griffith
The Bruins are a strong group offensively, particularly down the middle with Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Ryan Spooner. However, the Bruins really don't have 1 guy who is going to score on a consistent basis and it will be Claude Julien's job to get all his lines going. It will be interesting to watch David Krejci this season, injuries limited him to only 47 games last season and he looks to rebound this year. The Bruins added Matt Beleskey, Jimmy Hayes and Zac Rinaldo to add to their forward depth, with Beleskey being their big free-agent acquisition. The X-factor could be David Pastrnak, the Bruins emerging young star is capable of being a good goal scorer in the NHL and it will remain to be seen if that is now or in the future.
Defense:
Zdeno Chara - Dennis Seidenberg
Torey Krug - Adam McQuaid
Matt Irwin - Zach Trotman
Extra: Kevan Miller, Joe Morrow
The biggest issue for the Bruins this season on D will be staying healthy, something that has not gone well so far as both Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg will start the season on the IR. The Bruins lost Dougie Hamilton in a trade with the Flames, so a lot will be on Torey Krug to step up without Chara and Seidenberg. The Bruins are hoping that Chara and Seidenberg both return soon, without them they are very thin on D.
Goaltending:
Tuukka Rask
Jonas Gustavsson
Tuukka Rask was a lone bright spot for the Bruins last season, he played a career-high 70 games and maintained a .922 save % on a bad Bruins team. Expect Rask to carry the load again this season, but Jonas Gustavsson will help ease the load and give Rask some much needed rest when needed. If the Bruins expect to return to the playoffs, it will be on Rask to lead the way.
2015/2016 Outlook and Prediction:
5th in Atlantic Division, 11th in Eastern
Conference
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