The Boston Bruins head home after a successful 3-2 road record to open the season.  Maybe there is hope afterall.

Here’s my take on the team thus far:

Offense [B-]

If it werent for the goal parade in LA on Friday night - the grade would have been lower.  However, we saw some encouraging things from the young kids which has giving me bigger expectations for what this offense can do.

One of the key improvements in this offence from a year ago is the emergence of a third line that can put the puck in the net.  The trio of David Krejci, Phil Kessel and Milan Lucic (or PJ Axelsson) has given the Bruins the ability to match up much better against the elite teams.  Krejci can do a lot of different things on the ice to help his team - he looks like a keeper.

With Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard leading the way, the improved Bruins power play currently ranks 7th overall in the NHL. 

Defense [C]

The final score in San Jose last night didnt tell the truth of the problems the B’s had in their own zone.  With the Sharks taking a bite out of five goal posts during the game, the Bruins had a little luck going their way. 

Adding an experienced defensemen to the blue line would clearly give this team a jolt and take some of the pressure off the Chara/Ward combo .  The #2 pairing of Alberts and Ference is seeing the ice way too much early on.

Bruins rank 15th overall in goals against, and 20th on the PK.   Still some work to do.

Goaltending [C+]

Coming into the season, the expectation was for newly acquired Manny Fernandez to take over the #1 job between the pipes in Boston.  Not so fast, Tim Thomas has other plans in mind.

Thomas has clearly been the better man in goal through five games, and unless Manny turns things around quickly, his playing time will decrease drastically.   Bruins don’t have the luxury of waiting for Fernandez to figure things out, Coach Julien will soon go with the hot hand.

I’ll give it a couple more weeks of juggling goalies before Julien finds the goalie he’s most comfortable with.

Physical Play [B+]

Bruins said throughout the off season that they want to ice a team that is ‘tough’ to play against.

Well, so far - so good.

With the additions of Chuck Kobasew, David Krejci, Peter Schaefer and increased playing time for Phil Kessel, the team speed and puck pursuit throughout the lineup has improved.  This just feels like a team that is built more for playoff hockey.

Shawn Thornton and Milan Lucic have added the much needed ’tough guy’ dimension.  Yes, they are enforcers, but they have demonstrated the necessary discipline to drop the gloves at the right time.    The 19 year old Lucic has been a freight train out there finishing all of his checks.  I just don’t see the kid returning to Junior hockey this season the way he has played.

Coaching [A-]

Starting the season on a tough five game road trip, and coming home above .500 is not something to sell short.

Julien has showed the willingness to let the kids play and also let physical players play physical.   It’s made a difference.

Phil - BTB