Grade the Players: Goals were down but points were up in a solid season for Sean Kuraly

Grade: B

Bruins center Sean Kuraly contributed as a bottom-six forward with relative consistency during the regular season.

He used his frame to win battles behind the net and stay strong on the puck to create opportunities for himself and his teammates. He earned a career high of 23 points in 69 games during the 2019-20 season.

Kuraly had a little drop-off in goals from the 2018-19 season: during the 2019-20 season, he only netted six goals, compared to nine the previous season. However, he made up for it with assists.

His best point streak came during a three-game period at the end of November 2019, which included his most productive game of the season.

On November 26, 2019, Kuraly had his best game of the season, tallying three assists in the Bruins’ win over the Montreal Canadiens.

In this game, Kuraly did the little things right and kept on the play. His stick-check along the center boards led to a breakaway goal. A simple give-and-go pass on the power play led to another.

Some of his goals might not be the prettiest, but Kuraly was able to add some secondary scoring. And hey - a goal is a goal. Kuraly’s positioning in front of the net to deflect the puck in or his shot’s redirection off an opponent show his efforts to shoot the puck and see what happens.

However, it would have been nice if more goals came to fruition for him and the rest of the fourth line, since scoring and shooting from them was down as a whole.

He had 95 shots on goal this season, down from the previous two seasons, in which he accumulated 134 each year.

What Kuraly lacked in goal quantity, he made up with the energy he brought and goals/assists that came at crucial moments. He’s good at using his frame to his advantage to create plays from behind the net and chip in loose rebounds. He also logged 12 minutes or more of time on ice for 77% of the season and occasionally saw time on the power play.

In this year’s playoffs, Kuraly appeared in 10 games. He netted one goal, which was a shorthanded deflection, and registered two assists.

Kuraly suffered from a groin injury and was sidelined for the last three games against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Overall, Kuraly served his purpose this season as a bottom-six forward with some stability to the fourth line, but there’s certainly room for improvement.

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