So, hockey season started, sure, but we all know it doesn’t really start until the Black and Gold take the ice at TD Garden in front of 17,565 eager Bostonians. Well folks, that moment will take place on Thursday night at 7:00 pm against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bruins, of course, will take the ice as the defending Eastern Conference Champions, having come two wins away from raising the Stanley Cup. There have been a few changes to that roster, but the core of the team is still in place.
Between Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask and Patrice Bergeron on the ice and Claude Julien behind the bench, the Bruins will look just like the team that won a Cup in 2011 and the Eastern Conference last year. They will be without Nathan Horton (CBJ), Andrew Ference (EDM), Jaromir Jagr (NJD), Tyler Seguin (DAL), and Rich Peverley (DAL). The new faces include Jarome Iginla (CGY,PIT), Loui Eriksson (DAL), and Reilly Smith (DAL). Iginla will fill Horton’s role on a line with David Krejci and Milan Lucic and will bring with him over 1,100 career points. He is a guaranteed hall of famer and will add a great veteran presence and scoring touch the likes of which the Bruins haven’t seen in a long time.
As part of the Seguin and Peverley trade, the Bruins added Eriksson and Smith. Eriksson will likely play with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on the second line, giving the Bruins two top lines that could matchup with anyone else’s in the league. Eriksson is a strong 2-way player who does his job in both ends and has a nose for the net. He’s had multiple 70-point seasons and will fit in well with the Bs. Reilly Smith is a little bit more of an unknown. He’s a 22-year-old product of the University of Miami Ohio where he tallied 122 points in 121 games. According to Bruins’ GM Peter Chiarelli, he’s quick, shifty, creative, and has great hands. He’ll lineup on the 3rd line with Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg (Jordan Caron will play in Soderberg’s spot while he recovers from minor ailments).
The biggest weakness the Bruins had in previous seasons was the powerplay, and they’ve improved greatly there. With Jarome Iginla quarterbacking, the Bs have already shown great improvement with the man advantage in preseason. The possibility of Torey Krug manning the point on the PP the way he did in the playoffs last season is also enticing. Though Claude Julien is going to have to bench one of his three young defensemen, Krug, Dougie Hamilton, and Matt Bartkowski, it is unclear yet how he plans to work that out.
All in all, the Bruins look just as good if not better than last year, and will certainly contend for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. They will start the season against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. The Lightning have struggled in recent years, and, honestly, there isn’t much reason to believe they’ll improve a whole lot this year. The additions of Ben Bishop in goal and Valterri Filppula at center will certainly help, though. Bishop is young and unproven as a full-time starter, but in his limited NHL action he’s been tough to score on.
While the Lightning aren’t likely to finish near the top of the standings this season, they are always a dangerous team. With two of the league’s premier scorers, Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis, on their first line, they are a threat to put goals on the board. Look for Chara and Boychuk to matchup with that line for most of the night, and effectively shut them down. It’s hard to make too many predictions before the first game of the season. All I can say is that I can’t wait for the puck to drop in Boston. It’s going to be another great season.
Conrad's Corner Sports 