Overreaction Season: What we can learn about the Boston Bruins through two whole games

The early NHL season is definitely a time for wild overreaction. In an 82 game season, these first ten games or so are important, but trying to learn something from the first three or four is sort of missing the forest for the trees.

So we can check in on the team in a bit, just after they play-

[Checks schedule]

ON THURSDAY!? ARE YOU ACTUALLY KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW-

Alright, fine. Since we have so little to do and so long to wait, let’s indulge in Overreaction season for a few minutes with some very, very, very, very, very early analysis of the Boston Bruins through two games.

David Pastrnak is probably going to be in the hunt for the Rocket again

David Pastrnak leads the Boston Bruins in goals with three through two games, though one is an empty-netter.

I do not anticipate that changing much this season at all.

Pasta through two games already has the goal lead, but he’s leading in a lot of other categories as well; shots, CF%, FF%, xGF%...if it’s quantifiable, Pasta’s leading it early. That’s huge for a team that needs to produce some buy-in from new guys and from young guys to see an alternate captain putting in all this work early on. Further, it’s a major boon to the Bruins to have anyone who’s putting in that kind of shooting because candidates for finishers on this team are a bit low these days.

Monty figured out the thing you’re supposed to do with JvR quickly and it’s already paying dividends

James van Reimsdyk is well known as an extremely useful net-front presence. It’s a big part of why a player as old as he is has been able to keep being a reliable point-getter and goal-scorer; more than just being 6’3, he knows how to use the premium of space to his advantage, and is extremely aware of where shots are coming from if he doesn’t have the puck. In Boston’s game against Nashville, he found the back of the net twice on these kinds of plays.

For a very short amount of time, I was terrified to think that he’d be taking up a bumper spot on power plays and on the rush, but that’s a bit of doubt cast poorly on Coach Montgomery, and I freely admit I was just being paranoid about it.

So long as JvR stays out in front of the net, there’s a potent danger of a Bruins goal-for waiting to be cashed in on.

Matthew Poitras might be for real?

They should just make his parents send him a postcard, he’s not going back to Guelph.

Poitras through two games has been phenomenal; playing with some good linemates definitely helps, but he’s risen to the occasion, being 3rd on the team in xGF% through two games, and with one assist.

If he keeps this up, there’s little reason to believe he’s not going to have a respectable point total by the end of the season...and he will be staying.

The expected cap jump will more than make up for it when they have to sign a bridge deal.

Keeping Ullmark and Swayman was a good call but they gotta keep the rotation going.

Hey, when your tandem at worst playing at a .940 SV%, things are off to a good start.

Ullmark and Swayman brought the goalie hugs, but more importantly have shown in each game that they’re still reliable netminders that the Bruins can build off of, especially as they go through the next couple of weeks trying to fully forge their chemistry.

My one concern is that they must keep this rotation going. Full season. No stopping for anything. Not even injury, just put Bussi on the-[EDITORIAL: This bit sucked trust me so we’re moving on to the final point]

The Boston Bruins ain’t dead yet.

It’s not gonna be pretty, but this team still has enough left in the tank to stick around as a potential playoff team.

Admittedly it’s still very early and the Bruins have yet to play a real contender, but there’s something in that base level of talent that Boston has been able to keep together that seems to be working (probably the goaltending and those sick wingers) towards keeping them in the early conversation. The goal to meet is to keep that kind of scrappy win going through American Thanksgiving...and of course, the rest of the Atlantic continue to struggle to meet expectations through this early part of the season.

Hi, Buffalo/Tampa/Detroit. Keep up the good work!

Anyway, I hope the NHL Schedule-makers had a miserable Canadian thanksgiving for making us wait four days to watch further Boston Bruins games. Hope that Turkey was dryer than the Sahara.