Bruins Midseason Report

The Bruins have reached the halfway point of season 9. The goal during off-season was to re-tool the look of the team and bring in some character players, younger players and players that fit into what we're trying to do here in Boston. After the retirement of Bruin legend Joe Sakic a couple of seasons ago, the team needed a new look. Rick Nash was the new team captain and a new team was going to be built around him. With that in mind, the Bruins management were very active and brought in players such as Zach Parise and Logan Couture (both last season), David Backes, Johnny Boychuk, Cal Clutterbuck, Michael Del Zotto, Tuukka Rask, Ryan Suter and Kris Versteeg among others. This brought a group of young, determined and skilled set of players to Boston.

The season hasn't seen the team reach for the stars, but instead quietly build something that will hopefully bring success in the near future, perhaps as soon as next season. We're very happy with the moves we've made and we're always trying to improve our team for now and the future whenever possible. We knew going into this season the team wasn't ready to compete for the Cup. With that said, the results have been up and down for most of the season. 41 games in, the team currently sits 15th overall in the league, 2 games over .500. In a perfect world and with a bit of luck that could've been 10 games over .500, but at the same time we knew our limitations going into the season.

Here's a look at some stats and facts from the season so far, 41 games into the season.

BEST FORWARD:

RICK NASH

Nash leads the Bruins with 30 goals (3rd in the league) and 47 points in 41 games. He's also got the most PPG's (11, 2nd in the league), GWG's (5, tied with Logan Couture) and shots (267, most in the entire league). His 116 hits ranks 7th in the league.

BEST DEFENSEMAN:

RYAN SUTER

Suter has been the best overall d'man for the Bruins all season long. He's logging almost 28 minutes of ice-time/game and has 24 points in 41 games. He's also the team leader in +/- with +8 and pass% leader with an impressive 85.2%.

BEST GOALTENDER:

DWAYNE ROLOSON

Roloson has only been limited to 8 games with the Bruins after he was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers earlier this season. But in those 8 games he's put up an impressive .957 Sv%. Current #1 goalie Tuukka Rask has been solid with his .915 Sv%, but the veteran has come to play in Boston and deserves more opportunities.

BEST ALL-ROUND PLAYER:

PATRICE BERGERON

Bergeron is the best two-way forward on the team and has put up a respectable point/game average with 41 points in 41 games, including 17 goals and 24 assists. He's won almost 63% of his faceoffs, which ranks 7th in the league.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:

CAL CLUTTERBUCK

Clutterbuck has mostly been playing on the top line with Bergeron and Nash so his 39 points in 41 games doesn't come as a major surprise. But the fact that he's been a good replacement for injured star Zach Parise is of importance. He also leads the team in hits (125, 5th in the league with a couple of games in hand).

TOP FIGHTER:

SHAWN THORNTON

Thornton has been involved in 12 fights in 37 games so far. With 5 wins, 6 ties and only 1 loss, he's ranked 13th in the league according to the mid-season fight report. He's got 148 PIM on the season, along with 23 well-earned 3 Star points.

BRUINS 3 STARS - LEADERBOARD:

RICK NASH

Nash leads the Bruins with 70 star points on the 3 Stars leaderboard. He's been the first star on 11 occasions. He's followed by Patrice Bergeron (57), David Backes and Cal Clutterbuck (both 43).