For all of the talk of a bridge year or a wild-card slot awaiting the 2023-24 Bruins, Jim Montgomery’s club has quieted said discourse in short order.
Boston is already past the midway mark of the 2023-24 season — with a revamped roster sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a 31-9-9 record.
But with the All-Star break standing as the unofficial starting gate before a frantic 33-game second half, Boston’s de-facto bye week stands as an ideal time to reassess an overachieving team looking to pen a better ending than last year’s record-setting bunch.
Here’s a look at four things to follow during the final months of the 2023-24 Bruins regular season.
Can the Bruins’ scoring surge continue?
The Bruins underwent one of the most significant talent drains in recent memory this past offseason.
In the span of a few months, Boston lost key cogs in Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov, Nick Foligno, Connor Clifton and others through retirement, trades, and free agency.
It was a group that accounted for 210 total points last season, with Don Sweeney ultimately retooling Boston’s forward corps with internal options, rookies, and a bevy of bargain-bin signings.
The writing was on the wall that Boston’s offense was doomed to regress. But through 49 games, the Bruins are still sixth in the NHL at 3.49 goals scored per game.
That impressive ranking has largely been a byproduct of an extended surge in offense for the Bruins since the holiday break. In 17 games since Christmas, the Bruins are leading the league at 4.29 goals scored per game.
A potent power play (operating at 26 percent this season) has often been the conduit that has sparked Boston’s offense in the past. But the Bruins are also landing plenty of punches at 5v5 play, with Boston fifth in the league with 110 5v5 tallies this winter.
It should come as little surprise that Boston’s big guns up front like David Pastrnak (33 goals, 72 points) and Brad Marchand (24 goals, 47 points) are leading the charge.
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