(Elise Amendola/Associated Press)

The Boston Bruins had a terrible start to the season, and many thought that their time among the Eastern Conference elite had run its course. Tuukka Rask was human, the defense was in shambles, and they couldn’t score. My how things have changed.

The Bruins are now fourth in the Atlantic, having gone 6-1-3 in their last ten, including four wins in a row. They’ve passed the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers as expected, but the Panthers have games in hand. This Bruins team looks like the team many pegged to win the Atlantic (not I, I said the Lightning).

The Bruins have that lethal mix of elite goaltending, top-end skill, and depth. Their blue line isn’t what it used to be, but it’s still good enough to get the job done.

What have they done lately?\

As we move towards score-adjusted 5v5 Fenwick and away from regular old 5v5 Fenwick, we get more accurate assessments of team performance. It’s actually interesting looking at the Bruins, who took a steep dive down below 50% when 2015 started, but have been trending up over the past few games. Shown comparatively to the Rangers, they are a little worse (rolling five game average):

bruins nyr ff

 

When you see a team go on a run like the Bruins did, but see their possession numbers fall, you expect there to be an uptick in PDO, which as we see below, there was. PDO is largely driven by goaltending performance, and with this uptick, we expect that Rask performed well. during that 5% increase in January. That sharp downward slide? Rask was bad.

bruins rangers pdo

The B’s are an odd team to figure out really. They don’t play in a particularly strong division, but they should be better than they are. Their win streak is marred by their dropping possession (until the past five games) and their uptick in PDO. I honestly still have no idea what to make of the Bruins. They should be a playoff team, but what do I know?

Bruins Systems

The Bruins have had the same style of play for years under Claude Julien. They play an aggressive 2-1-2 forecheck early in the period and then switch to a more conservative 1-4 or 1-1-3 lock later in the period if they have a lead. In the defensive zone, the Bs play a low zone collapse and try to defend you in layers depending on puck location. On special teams, the Bruins use an umbrella power play and a wedge+1/diamond force penalty kill where they try to pressure for turnovers.

Rangers Lineup

Rick Nash-Derrick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider-J.T. Miller-Martin St. Louis
Carl Hagelin-Dominic Moore-Lee Stempniak
Tanner Glass-Kevin Hayes-Jesper Fast

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Dan Boyle
Matt Hunwick-Kevin Klein

Cam Talbot is in net tonight.

Scratches/Injuries: Derek Stepan (wrist), John Moore (healthy)

Be sure to check out our ticket link if you’re looking for tickets to the game.

Game time is 7pm on MSG.

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