Ah, here we are, the beginning of the 2011-2012 NHL season is upon us. And for the first time in 39 years, your Boston Bruins are the Defending Stanley Cup Champions (keep pinching me). As you all know, I am a little over zealous when it comes to the Black and Gold (i.e. the unattractive mountain man beard) but that is just the way I like it. I watched the Bruins Championship DVD more times than Cooney asked to cut in on a Cigarette. But all that aside, we have a Championship title to defend. So without further ado, here is how the 2011-2012 Bruins shape up.
The Bruins are returning 17 members of the Cup winning squad (miraculous job by GM Peter Chiarelli) after losing only 2 key Contributors in Michael "Snip" Ryder and the ageless wonder Mark Recchi. Losing leadership in Rex will hurt this squad but we do have 17 Stanley Cup Champs on this roster so I'm not sweating any more than I already do. Snip is a dog during the regular season but when he has something to play for he is real nice. Kaberle, you sucked royally and we will not miss you.
Filling in for Rex will be youngblood Tyler Seguin, who missed time last year because of a lack of experience. He had flashes of brilliance followed by extended slumps. Having a full time roll will help him in his progression and the Stanley Cup Championship will help his mental game as well. Newcomer Benoit Puliot just needs to give us Snips regular season numbers to not be a bust and Defensmen Joe Corvo just needs to show up to the rink to be an upgrade over Kaberle.
Goaltender Tim Thomas came off the most historic year for any 'tender in NHL history by virtue of his Trophy Trifecta (Vezina, Conn Smythe, and Stanley). But can we expect him to continue his lights out performances into this season? Don't bet on it. Timmy is getting old and well qualified back up Tuukka Rask will bring back the slogan "Two U's, Two K's, Two Points" as he will be called upon to lighten Timmy's load throughout the regular season if there is any chance for Tim to have a solid playoff run. Long story short, we don't have any problems in the crease.
Coupled with strong goaltending, The blue liners for this squad will make the Bruins GAA stay in the top 5 this season. Zdeno Chara, Andrew Ference, Joe Corvo, and the German Missile will pace the D-men on this team with Quaider and Johnny Boychuck needing to step up and play solid defense all season. Again, barring injury, the Bruins defensive zone play will be solid this season.
Offensively, the Bruins need to worry about consistent production. After a season with only 2 60 point players (Krejci and Lucic) there is still room for improvement. The Power Play needs to have markedly increased production, Marchand needs to avoid the sophomore slump, the 4th line needs to continue their solid, tone setting play all season, and consistent play making from the top 2 lines on this team should set the Bruins comfortably atop the standings in the Northeast Divison.
All in all, on paper, this Bruins team should be up there in the discussion for Title Contenders. They will need to avoid the Stanley Cup Champion hangover as it is gonna take some serious effort night in and night out as everyone will want to best the defending champs. Todd, per usual, will be emptying his wallet for this team as he expects to attend 5-10 games this season (RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW!).
THE "WAY TOO EARLY TO BE MAKING A PREDICTION" PREDICTION
With a 108 point regular season, the Champs are a shoe-in for the playoffs. The Northeast Division Champs, after knocking out 3 worthy opponents, will find themselves back in the finals. Thats as far as the crystal ball goes boys and girls.
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