Five Observations From the Bruins' First Four Games

We're four games into the 2011-2012 NHL season and the Boston Bruins look strong, despite their 1-3 record. Their two key offseason additions, Benoit Pouliot and Joe Corvo, have not hindered the flow or success of the returning Stanley Cup Champions. There have been a couple of bright spots, a couple of things that have not been perfect but should be improved as the season goes on, and one glaring weakness. This season should be another promising one.

1. Tyler Seguin: The Number 2 overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft had a tepid rookie season. 11 goals, 11 assists, 22 points (11-11-22) was left fans confused and somewhat deflated, after he was dubbed a "can't miss prospect" by many NHL experts. He was unimpressive. However, during the first four games of the 2011-2012 season, Seguin has been impressive. In the opening game against Philadelphia, he connected with Brad Marchand on a long pass, which led to the Bruins' only goal in the game. In tonight's game against Carolina, he picked up a loose puck near center ice, streaked down the right side, and sniped a beautiful goal over Carolina goalie Cam Ward's left shoulder. If he keeps this up, I can see 30 goals and 50 points for Seguin this season.

Seguin

2. The Schedule: In some ways the Bruins got screwed by the scheduling of the first week of the season. Terrible draw, with four games in the first six days, including the first two against Cup contenders in Philadelphia and Tampa Bay (Lost 3-1 to Philadelphia; Won 4-1 against Tampa Bay). I get that the NHL wants to promote and take advantage of the Boston media market (fifth biggest in America) the reigning Champs with two nationally televised games (10/6 against Philadelphia; tonight 12/12 against Carolina), but this is just brutal. Hopefully, when the team starts getting two, three, four, or more days between games, they can become more consistent.

3. Bad Luck/Just Wait: Some of the issues through the first four games seem to be related to bad luck. Bad bounces have led to opposing players having the puck in ideal scoring zones, leading to goals. In addition, the puck has seemingly hopped off of Bruins players sticks when they are in a good position to score. These just seem to be bad luck and they should even out over the next 78 games. Fans also need to have patience. The Bruins played meaningful games until the last possible date last year (Game 7 Stanley Cup Final, June 15, 2011). They had a shorter summer than any team except the Vancouver Canucks, their opponent in the Cup. They also toured "Lord Stanley" around their hometowns and the City of Boston. This led to a shorter summer of training than the players are accustomed to and they are not yet in top form on the ice.

4. The Top Line: In the NHL, every team has a top combinations of players that it can depend on to give the offense a boost or generate a scoring chance. Every team, except the Bruins. The No. 1 line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci, and Nathan Horton has not been consistent, dynamic, or reliable. They have been invisible. 1 goal, 1 assist, and 2 points (1-1-2). This is, apparently, the most efficient combination of forwards that the Bruins have. Where have they been? Horton was injured on Wednesday night, and with Seguin taking his place, the top line looked to have a little more pop.

5. Goaltending...Again: The Bruins had the best goalie in the NHL last season. Tim Thomas won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie from 2010-2011. This year, Thomas has a 2.02 goals against average (GAA) and his eventual successor, Tuuka Rask, checks in at 1.01. Their combined record of 1-3 is no their fault at all.They have given up 8 goals in four games and continueto be th backbone of this team.

Rask