Morning Skate: Rest

Happy Monday, folks.

Hopefully you had yourselves a nice weekend, and if you didn’t, hopefully things improve this week.

It was a good weekend for the local hockey outfit, with the Bruins beating Minnesota 4-3 in overtime to continue their solid start.

Bar that one blip in the chaotic game against Ottawa, the Bruins couldn’t have imagined a better six-game start to the season.

In talking with my brother about the team yesterday, he mentioned something that rang true: the team seems more “fun to watch” this season, even if that occasionally means playing wide-open (i.e. not exactly the most stout defense) hockey.

When contrasting that with some of the sluggish play we saw at times last season, it’s certainly refreshing.

One of the main reasons for that excitement: speed, and lots of it.

Taylor Hall sees a whole bunch of speed, and it’s hard to argue that a quicker overall tempo isn’t one of the biggest differences so far this season.

As of Sunday, the B’s had scored the most goals in the league on the young season (27), so we’re certainly getting our money’s worth.

If you want to be a bit more negative, their firmly in the middle of the pack in terms of goals-against.

However, most of us would trade that super-stingy defense for a more potent offense, right? Plus, defense like sorts itself out a bit when your best overall defenseman comes back.

Anyways, that’s my ramble for the day. The B’s will enjoy a nice early season respite to start the week, as they’re out of game action until hosting the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

Turns out I can’t read a schedule - the Bruins will play Dallas at home tomorrow.

Today’s discussion topic

Understanding that it’s early in the season, what are the biggest differences you’ve noticed from the current Bruins vs. last season’s team?

Speed and the ability to create more chances in the middle of the ice stand out to me.