It would be easy to overlook the Boston Bruins if you have been reading their headlines. Much of the discussion about Boston has shifted towards whether or not they should fire Claude Julien. The really simple answer to that question is no they should not. The Boston Bruins have actually played well during the 2016-17 season. Perhaps calling it 'playing well' would be underselling it.



They are the best possession team in hockey. Their process is right more often than it is wrong. So what gives? Goaltending and shooting.

Tuukka Rask has been one of the better goalies in the league for a large enough sample to consider him a very good player. Boston is currently ranked 23rd in EVSV% at .915. Is it Rask's fault. Not really. His numbers are down, but he's still at a respectable .925 at 5v5. It's the other Boston goalies who are doing their best to sink their ship. Anton Khudobin (.896) and Zane McIntyre (.872) have been horrendous. I'm not usually somebody who uses the goalie wins statistic, but in this case the difference between Rask and not Rask is stark. The Bruins on the year are 23-20-6. Rask is 22-11-4. The other goalies are 1-9-2. They don't win when Rask doesn't play. Given that Boston is the best possession team in the league I doubt the team magically plays worse in front of those non-Rask goaltenders.

Scoring goals has been an issue for the Bruins this year. They have the second worst shooting percentage at even-strength at 6.05. Their possession is great but their shooting "luck" has not been. Some of their better offensive players from last year are suffering offensively this year as a result.



These are huge drop offs.

Quite frankly it is impressive that the Bruins are holding down a playoff spot considering the fact their goaltending is 23rd and their shooting is 29th.

Coaches can't make goalies stop more pucks or shooters hit their spots. Their main impact on the game is how well their team can either drive play or defend it. Right now the Bruins lead the NHL in CF/60 at 61.5 and are third overall in CA/60 at 49.8. People should be able realize this and talk about how Claude Julien is doing a good job while trying to navigate some really crumby PDO.

****

On the Penguins side of things there is some good news on the injury front. Brian Dumoulin practiced again yesterday, but this time it did not involve a non-contact jersey.

Scott Wilson also practice and what looked like a potential injury situation on Friday night appears to be a non-issue for today's game. He described the injury as a stinger and didn't feel it was worth the risk to come back onto the ice given the time of the game and the score.

There's a rumor about a football game after the hockey game.

Thanks for reading!


Follow @GunnerStaal

Join the Discussion: » 83 Comments » Post New Comment

» Going to need some help now

» Penguins giveth Penguins taketh away

» Now or never

» Where do things stand now for Pittsburgh

» Penguins jolt all the way into playoff spot after victory over Tampa Bay