The Bruins had high hopes last season, going into the playoffs as the team to beat. After the team added Brian Elliott and Patrick Sharp late in the season, the team was set for a Cup run. It ended in the Conference Finals to a very good Florida Panthers team. The Panthers then came up short against the San Jose Sharks who took home the Cup.
So it felt like the Bruins had something to prove heading into this season.
The Trades
The Bruins only made two deals that had an impact on the roster. But both those trades proved to be vital. Both trades came during the off-season with the first being a blockbuster deal with the New York Rangers.
The trade was:
To NYR: Rick Nash, David Backes, Patrick Sharp, Cal Clutterbuck, Tanner Glass, Michael Del Zotto and Bryan Allen
To BOS: Jeff Carter, Andrew Ladd, Martin Hanzal, Steve Bernier, Steve Ott, Nick Leddy and Trevor Daley
After not reaching the Cup final the season before, we felt we wouldn't reach our goal of winning the Cup if we'd just stand pat. We identified the needs and were able to bring in a pure goalscorer in Carter, a winger with allround qualities in Ladd, a complete third line in Hanzal, Ott and Bernier along with two useful d'men in Leddy and Daley.
The second trade was made to give the team another defensive d'man when Roman Polak was brought in.
The trade was:
To CAR: Trevor Daley, Brad Richardson, Dan Carcillo and Bos' 3rd rookie pick
To BOS: Roman Polak, Kyle Chipchura, Peter Mueller, Guillaume Latendresse and Colby Armstrong
Polak (and Chipchura) gave the team the depth needed to compete throughout the season. No big name players, but important parts of the puzzle. The rest were throw in players we knew would have no impact.
Before the trade deadline, the Bruins looked at making another deal. Just like when Patrick Sharp was brought in at the deadline the season before. We looked to add another top four, perhaps top two d'man. But in the end, nothing materialized. However, this meant we kept our 1st round rookie pick, so no harm done...
The Regular Season
The Bruins ended with the 3rd best record, going 52(W) - 22(L) - 8(T). A very productive regular season to be proud of. However, the last 17 games the team lost steam and not much worked. More on that later.
6th best offense
3rd best defense
7th best power play
1st overall box play
The Last 17 Games
The Bruins went 47-14-4 in the first 65 games, but ended with a dissapointing 5-8-4 record. For some reason this poor record came from the time Colton Orr was added to the team (after picking him up from free agency). However, Orr only played in two or three of those games so no reason to blame him. But one easily becomes superstitious at a time like that.
The Playoffs
Heading into the playoffs with a 5-8-4 record as well as poor play by Tuukka Rask down the road (had a very poor .903 Sv% during the regular season), there wasn't much hope of going far. Things just didn't click late in the season.
Fortunately, things changed in the playoffs as the team become better with each round.
Round 1 vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6 games)
4-3 (OT)
2-1 (OT)
1-4 @
1-3 @
3-1
4-1 @
Round 2 vs. Montreal Canadiens (5 games)
4-0
4-1
3-0 @
3-5 @
5-1
Round 3 vs. Winnipeg Jets (5 games)
5-0
1-0
2-1 @ (OT)
1-3 @
6-5 (OT)
Round 4 vs. San Jose Sharks (5 games)
4-1 @
1-3 @
3-2 (OT)
3-2 (OT)
10-2 @
@ = away games
Interesting notes:
6 out of 6 OT games were won
11 out of 11 home games were won (including 5 in OT)
The Lines
After game 4 in the 1st round vs. Carolina (series tied 2-2), the final line adjustment was made and was kept for the rest of the playoffs. Going 12-3 for the rest of the Cup run, it proved to be the winning formula.
Forward lines:
Patrice Bergeron / Zach Parise / Jeff Carter
Logan Couture / Andrew Ladd / Ryan Callahan
Martin Hanzal / Steve Ott / Steve Bernier
Jeff Halpern / Craig Adams (PK only)
D pairings:
Ryan Suter / Dennis Seidenberg
Nick Leddy / Stephane Robidas
Tim Gleason / Roman Polak
Goalie:
Tuukka Rask
The MVP's of the Regular Season
Players with the most 3 Star points:
Jeff Carter with 96 points (including 12 time #1 star)
Zach Parise with 94 points (including 8 time #1 star)
Ryan Callahan with 93 points (including 12 time #1 star)
Most productive players:
LW Parise 21.2 82 33 57 90 26 12 9 0 5 2 283 11.7
RW J.Carter 21.9 82 47 27 74 22 78 7 0 10 0 312 15.1
C Couture 20.7 82 34 37 71 10 14 11 0 6 0 346 9.8
The MVP's of the Playoffs
Players with the most 3 Star points:
Tuukka Rask with 32 points (including 6 time #1 star)
Jeff Carter with 31 points (including 3 time #1 star)
Logan Couture with 25 points (including 2 time #1 star)
Most productive players:
LW Parise 25.9 21 6 22 28 12 6 3 0 1 0 77 7.8
RW J.Carter 25.7 21 19 4 23 12 12 2 0 2 0 94 20.2
C Couture 22.9 21 17 5 22 9 0 5 0 2 0 115 14.8
And of course:
Rask 21 1338 1.75 16 5 0 0 4 39 567 0.931 25.4 86.1
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