The Boston Bruins defeated the highly skilled Winnipeg Jets 4-1 at TD Garden on Monday night to take the lead in the Eastern Conference standings with a 29-8-9 record.
The outcome increased the Bruins’ winning and point streaks to five and nine games, respectively. The Bruins have the best record in the NHL, trailing only the Vancouver Canucks by one point, but they lead all 32 clubs with a.728 points percentage.
Once the Bruins returned from their holiday break on December 27, they are presently 10-1-3. They have lost four games in a row heading into the holidays. At the time, some started to question whether the Bruins weren’t a bit overhyped. But today that talk seems ridiculous.
The Bruins are unquestionably among the best clubs in the league. It remains to be seen if they can carry over this success from the regular season into a deep playoff run.
Before the Bruins’ meeting with the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden on Thursday, here are the four variables driving their nine-game winning streak and five-game point streak.
A true top-six center is Charlie Coyle.
Whether Charlie Coyle could jump into a top-six role and replace some of the production Patrice Bergron produced for many years was one of the greatest questions heading into the 2023–24 season.
Coyle has surpassed even the highest expectations thus far.
The seasoned center has scored in three of his last four games. Against the Jets, he scored his 17th goal of the year, setting a new record for his career with the Bruins since he joined his home team halfway through the 2018–19 season. Right now, Coyle is on track to surpass his career high of 21 goals, which he set in 2015–16 while playing for the Minnesota Wild.
Additionally, he is expected to surpass his previous season’s goals, assists, and points per 60 minutes figures.
Bergeron finished 46 games in the previous season with 17 goals and 20 assists. After 46 games this season, Coyle’s stat line is essentially unchanged (17 goals, 21 assists). He’s providing the Bruins with just what they need at a critical juncture.
Jake DeBrusk has become a prolific scorer.
On offense, Jake DeBrusk is really hot and cold. He’ll go through extended slumps in between times when he produces like a legitimate top-six wing.
Over the first 11 games of December, DeBusk failed to score once. However, in his subsequent 13 games, he has scored eight goals. After scoring a shorthanded goal against the Jets late in the third period to give the Bruins a commanding 3-1 lead, he is now on a three-game goal run.
It is impossible to overstate the significance of DeBrusk’s offensive breakthrough for the Bruins. Perhaps the Bruins won’t have to part with their best players in order to acquire a top-six forward before the March 8 trade deadline if he can improve his scoring consistency.
DeBrusk will have even more incentive to close off the season well since, come summertime, he will be able to become an unrestricted free agency. He has the potential to become extremely wealthy if he has a successful postseason run.
An additional scoring boost
With 61 goals during the winter break, the Bruins are the highest-scoring club in the NHL. With 39 goals scored during their nine-game winning streak, they also lead all 32 clubs.
“Our willingness to hang on to pucks. When questioned about his team’s recent scoring run, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery responded, “Our willingness to play five guys together, especially coming out of our D-zone through the neutral zone, and then really in the offensive zone.”
“I think the defenseman have been active and opened up space for the forwards, and I think the forwards have done a really good job of making plays when they’re there, and then hanging onto pucks or putting it into areas where we can continue to possess.”
The number of guys who have contributed to his Boston scoring surge is what is most encouraging. It’s not like the big guns, like Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, etc., are taking the majority of the load here. Although those men are undoubtedly playing well, the backup scorers have made some outstanding contributions.
During the team’s current nine-game point streak, Trent Frederic has three goals and three assists. He needs six more points to tie his career high of 31 points from the previous season. During this Bruins run, Morgan Geekie has five assists and one score. After being moved to the third line against the Jets, Jakub Lauko scored the game-winning goal in the second period to extend his point streak to a career-high three games.