Just how good is this team we've got here?

[veritas]

Also, this team is absurdly good. This is why I didn't want them to do anything big at the deadline. I feel like if things go as they should, we could be looking at a possible revenge series against Chicago in June. I feel like this is the best Bruins hockey team of my lifetime. If the Bruins win it all this year, I would compare it to the 2007 Sox championship team. They were just the best, and you knew if they played their best the nobody could beat them.

 
Not to mention the Eastern Conference is historically bad this season. Losing to anyone but Pitt would be a huge upset, and I'd definitely make the B's the favorites in that series. They're at better than even odds to come out of the east, and while they'd be the underdogs in the finals against the west's elite, they'd still have a pretty good chance. Mathematically speaking I think they should be the favorites to win the cup this season. The winner will likely come out of the west, but those playoffs will be a bloodbath this season, and I don't think any individual team has as good of a chance to win it all as the Bruins.
 
They were in a great position where they didn't have to mortgage the future to help themselves this season. It doesn't really make sense to trade big future assets to increase your chance of winning the cup a few percentage points above ~30% or whatever it is now. And there wasn't a move out there that would have changed those odds significantly. They got Meszaros which protects them against an injury to Boychuk/Hamilton which would have otherwise been pretty devastating.
 
And their forward depth is just absurd. Their 3rd line is better than a lot of 2nd lines in the league. Should be a huge advantage to keep guys fresh through the playoffs.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

Does this team have enough speed to match up with Chicago? I don't get to watch enough of the Bruins to know, but I saw some of Chicago flying around the Blues last night and it got me wondering.

The thing with Chicago is they have two really strong lines and then there is a significant drop off. The Bruins, above all, match up perfectly with Chicago.

The way to beat Chicago is to neutralize their first two lines while having a bottom two lines that are good enough to take advantage of the mismatch. The Bruins have the ability to stop Chicago's first two lines and the depth that can take advantage of their bottom lines.

The Bruins also have a much better powerplay this season, which could have made the difference for them last year against Chicago.

 

[ForceAtHome]

They were neck and neck with Chicago last year (literally, the first 4 games were about as close as possible) until the best forward in the league got his ribs broken and had to go to the hospital. Also Corey Crawford was fantastic; that could happen again but Rask is more consistent. With health they've shown they have at least an even shot against anyone.

 
Really?

 

[SawxSince67]

Graphic from Stanley Cup of Chowder that somewhat echoes what has already been observed, but a few more interesting points made about the 10 game run.
 
"Spoiler" due to size.
 

Spoiler

 
edit: botched spoiler

 

[Toe Nash]

 
Really?

No, not really. But given how he played against the actual best forward in the league last year, I'm not sure I wouldn't rather have him. Especially considering respective cap hits.

 

[Frisbetarian]

 
Really?

 
A very strong argument could be made that Bergeron, when considering both offense and defense, quality of teammates, quality of opposition, and average start position on the ice, has been among the best, if not the best, forward in the NHL over the past several seasons. 

 

[BoSoxFink]

It's probably because I have a man crush on him, but it still drives me nuts when Bergeron gets all the credit in the world and Krejci never does. I love Bergy and he's a tremendous player and one of, if not the best two way players in the league.

That being said, Krejci very much is as well. The guy is a model of consistency. He puts up between 60-70 points every year in a Claude Julien system. He's always first or second in that category and is far and away the Bruins best offensive player in my opinion. The only reason he doesn't score more is because he doesn't shoot enough, as he's always looking pass. He actually has a great shot and is very similar to how Savard was in that instance.

The part people never mention is that he's a very good player in his own end as well. He's very much a two way forward. Krejci can penalty kill when needed to, but Claude rarely uses him unless he has to because he loves following up a PK with the first line to regain some momentum.

Also Krejci is absolutely nails in the playoffs as we all know. Krejci has a total of 73 points in 81 games played in the playoffs with 29 goals and 44 assists. You could make the case that in the two runs to the finals for the Bruins he has been the best forward for this team both times. Hell, you could make a case he's been the best forward in the whole league during those two playoff runs.

So basically, to sum it up, I think Krejci matters just as much to the Bruins as Bergy does. If they were to lose either of them they would be missed equally and it would epically hurt the Bruins chances to make a run. I just think a lot of Bruins fans criminally underrate Krejci and I'm not exactly sure why. They better re-sign this guy next year.

 

[wnyghost]

I worry about the defense without Seidenberg.   It is great to have the young guys in as much as possible right now but there has been a few stretches of bad decisions that have resulted in odd man rushes/breakaways.  Having a stellar goalie in Rash to shut the door is a real luxury but thoses types of mental lapses could cost greatly in the playoffs.
 
The main man for the playoffs is still Chara and he needs to be rested whenever possible... he just does not look fresh right now.  Olympics and March has been a real grind without a lot of breaks. 
 
One real positive... Dougie Hamilton looks to be gaining confidence and there might be a little nastiness showing in his game. 

 

[FL4WL3SS]

I hate rashes.

 

[Red Right Ankle]

You can buy a cream for those.
 

 

[ForceAtHome]

 
A very strong argument could be made that Bergeron, when considering both offense and defense, quality of teammates, quality of opposition, and average start position on the ice, has been among the best, if not the best, forward in the NHL over the past several seasons. 

 
I think Bergeron is a phenomenal player... but I don't think there's any argument that he's the best forward in the NHL over the past few years. It's ludicrous to suggest that he is or has been better than Sidney Crosby.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

He's definitely in the conversation as best all-around forward.

 

[Red Right Ankle]

2nd best forward, at best.  It's going to be real hard to argue against Crosby given that the dude has 15 more points than the next highest player this season (43 more than Bergeron), is at or near the top of the leader board every season in which he isn't injured and is not a total liability defensively a la Ovechkin or Kessel.  He may not be as good defenisively as Bergeron but his offensive skills far outpace him.

 

[lars10]

2nd best forward, at best.  It's going to be real hard to argue against Crosby given that the dude has 15 more points than the next highest player this season (43 more than Bergeron), is at or near the top of the leader board every season in which he isn't injured and is not a total liability defensively a la Ovechkin or Kessel.  He may not be as good defenisively as Bergeron but his offensive skills far outpace him.

Bergeron is first in the entire league in +/- at +36 with 50 points... Crosby is 92nd with a +10 with 94 points (Kessel is -2  with 75 points and Ovechkin -31).  Bergeron plays an average of 18:03 minutes/game vs. 21:58 and 24.7 shifts per game vs 24 with a face-off percentage of 58.9 (1530 faceoffs, 901/629) vs. 52.6 (1677, 883/794).  (I think it's pretty huge that Bergy has won more faceoffs while taking almost 150 fewer)
 
I think it's obvious that Crosby is the better offensive player and Bergeron the better defensive player (admittedly on a better defensive team...+/- for most of the Bruins is pretty great).  With that said the offensive chasm is greater than the defensive chasm.  

 

[Red Right Ankle]

Yeah and Corsi brings that home. Bergy is at about 60% and Crosby in the low 50s. Bergy's line just doesn't let up shots like Crosby's does. Crosby just scores so much more.

 

[mikepnq]

Bergeron is first in the entire league in +/- at +36 with 50 points... Crosby is 92nd with a +10 with 94 points (Kessel is -2  with 75 points and Ovechkin -31).  Bergeron plays an average of 18:03 minutes/game vs. 21:58 and 24.7 shifts per game vs 24 with a face-off percentage of 58.9 (1530 faceoffs, 901/629) vs. 52.6 (1677, 883/794).  (I think it's pretty huge that Bergy has won more faceoffs while taking almost 150 fewer)
 
I think it's obvious that Crosby is the better offensive player and Bergeron the better defensive player (admittedly on a better defensive team...+/- for most of the Bruins is pretty great).  With that said the offensive chasm is greater than the defensive chasm.  

This raises an interesting question. To me, one of the easiest ways to decide who is "better" is to say "would I trade player x for player y, all other things being equal?" If the Pens offered Crosby or Malkin straight up for Bergy, would I do it? Not sure. Getzlaf? Probably not. Ovechkin? Maybe, just for the creativity, but he's terrible defensively. Toews? Very similar players, but I like Bergy a little better. If nothing else, I think Bergy is the perfect fit for the Bruins' system. Maybe he's not "better" than the other elite forwards, but he probably fits the system better than any of the others would (with the exception of Toews).

 

[lars10]

This raises an interesting question. To me, one of the easiest ways to decide who is "better" is to say "would I trade player x for player y, all other things being equal?" If the Pens offered Crosby or Malkin straight up for Bergy, would I do it? Not sure. Getzlaf? Probably not. Ovechkin? Maybe, just for the creativity, but he's terrible defensively. Toews? Very similar players, but I like Bergy a little better. If nothing else, I think Bergy is the perfect fit for the Bruins' system. Maybe he's not "better" than the other elite forwards, but he probably fits the system better than any of the others would (with the exception of Toews).

Yeah..this is where I'm at.  Bergy is a great fit on this team...and an even better fit with his line mates.  And he does everything you want a quality forward to do... which may be why his offensive numbers are down compared to others.  I think he concentrates on the overall game and does everything he can to get a W without concentrating on personal stats...it's like a Russell to Chamberlain argument.

 

[Toe Nash]

Yeah and Corsi brings that home. Bergy is at about 60% and Crosby in the low 50s. Bergy's line just doesn't let up shots like Crosby's does. Crosby just scores so much more.

CorsiRel makes it a bit closer as Crosby's defensemen aren't as good at possession as Bergeron's. Crosby is 17th in this stat as the Pens' CF% is +6.7% better with him on than with him off the ice. Bergeron is 1st in the NHL at +9.8%.

 

[McDrew]

Calculated some numbers from the 12 game run.  Here are the highlights.
 
After Thornton's goal in Saturday's game, every skater that has touched the ice, except for Lidblad in his 1 game cameo, has a point in the 12 game streak. 

edit: still working on formatting