Inside The Penalty Box 12.24.07: Goalies And Savard Lead Bruins Turnaround
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 12.24.2007
Despite a recent skid by the Boston Bruins in the month of December, they have performed better than expected – especially after finishing last in the Northeast and 13th in the conference last year. In this week’s Inside The Penalty Box, Neil Borenstein looks at the leading causes behind perhaps the most improved team from last season!
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports
Marc Savard has become the playmaker the Bruins probably never thought they would get again after trading Joe Thornton.
he Boston Bruins are losers of their last four games, and are starting to feel the effects of fatigue and injuries on their organization. In fact, the month of December has not been kind to the Bruins, as they are 5-6-2 this month going into the holiday break.
But this recent downward spiral comes after what needs to be considered an unexpected start from one of last season's worst teams in the league. And also despite this skid, I think the Bruins' season has thus far been a success.
I never expected much out of the Bruins this season. In fact, I figured them to finish last in both the Northeast Division and the Eastern Conference standings in my predictions prior to the start of the 2007-08 campaign. The Bruins' only transaction of importance over the offseason was the acquisition of goaltender Manny Fernandez, who lost his job to Niklas Backstrom in Minnesota and never proved he could handle No. 1 duties on his own in the NHL. Considering the Bruins' 76-point performance in 2006-07, which landed them last in the division and 13th in the conference, there was little reason to believe that any movement this team made would be anywhere but down.
Thirty-six games through this season, however, Boston finds itself second to only the Ottawa Senators in the Northeast and fourth in the conference standings with 40 points.
To call this team the surprise of the year is an understatement, even if there is still more than half a season remaining on the season. The Bruins are pulling off what the Pittsburgh Penguins did last season, go from the bottom of the standings to one of the best teams in the NHL in one felt swoop.
The reason for the Bruins' sudden success comes from two places.
The first is the team's goaltending. The Bruins have a solid trio of goaltenders playing high performance hockey – none of which are the $4.5 million prize brought in over the summer.
Just coming back from a groin injury is Tim Thomas, who still has to be considered the team's top starter for the time being. Thomas started the season as Fernandez' backup. But as Fernandez faltered and Thomas played stellar in between the pipes, the starting role became all Thomas'. In 22 games this season, Thomas is 10-8-3 with a league-leading .932 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.36, which ranks 10th in the league. Thomas, now 33, got his first real chance in the NHL two years ago following the lockout and has shined as a dependable late bloomer in net. Even in Boston's embarrassing finish last year, Thomas posted 30 wins.
The man immediately challenging Thomas at the moment is the one brought in by the team to replace him while injured – Alexander Auld. Much like other Phoenix Coyote netminders this season prior to Ilya Bryzgalov, Auld did not shine in net in the desert. But in Boston, Auld made an impact right away with three straight wins with only five goals allowed in that stretch. Following a tough 3-1 loss to New Jersey, in which he let in only two scores, Auld posted his first shutout as a Bruin, second of the season and fourth of his career in a 2-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. His two most recent starts have not gone quite as well, a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators and 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. But all that solidifies is that he is the backup to Thomas. However, if Thomas slips, Auld has proven to be capable of being a starter himself, albeit for a limited time while Thomas finds his game.
The third wheel is rookie Tuukka Rask, acquired on June 24, 2006 in the draft day deal that sent 2004 Rookie of the Year Andrew Raycroft to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Rask has been very limited with only three starts and one other four-minute appearance to spell Thomas when he injured his groin against the Devils. However, I was impressed with his performances against the Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers in late November. I think he's well on his way to eventually take on the starter role in Boston with some more experience. And until then, if something happens to Thomas or Auld, Rask can be called up without hesitation to fill the backup role.
Fernandez, meanwhile, just had knee surgery and will likely miss the rest of the season. Not that I wish injury on any player other than those wearing a Devils uniform (I'm kidding, sort of …), Fernandez' absence is probably for the best in Boston. He would only clutter their goaltending situation. And because of the money he makes, however unfair it is, he would still get a considerable amount of starts no matter how bad he plays. On a good defensive squad, which Boston really is not, Fernandez is a capable 50-50 netminder. But on his own, as the spotlight starter making an exuberant amount of money, Fernandez is extremely overrated.
The other reason the Bruins are higher in the standings than I believed they would be is the much-underrated Marc Savard. It really took Savard six years to reach his true potential in the NHL as one of the league's premiere playmakers. It actually took a trade from the Calgary Flames to the Atlanta Thrashers to get his juices flowing. Three years after landing in Atlanta, he posted a career-year over a full slate of 82 games with 69 assists and 97 points in 2005-06. Since then, he really hasn't looked back and continues to rack up an impressive resumé.
It was hard to imagine the Bruins ever recovering from losing Joe Thornton. The team dealt him to the San Jose Sharks in 2005, and that's really where it went downhill. But after Savard's 97-point campaign following the lockout, Boston scooped him up as a free agent the summer of 2006 on a four-year, $20 million deal. And though he isn't quite Thornton-esque still, Savard has definitely lived up to his contract and continued his impressive play that he began showing two seasons ago.
In his first season with the Bruins he posted a career-high 74 assists, which also ranked third in the league behind Thornton (92) and Sidney Crosby (84.) On such a bad team, to be such a big offensive producer really makes him stand out. He furthered his new reputation as a supreme playmaker in the league. And in Boston, he doesn't even have players like Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa on his wings.
This season, Savard is third in the NHL in assists with 31 helpers. Between mid-November and early-December, the 30-year old veteran posted a 12-game assist and point streak, including a four-point showing against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 26. It was his second best game of the campaign behind a five-point affair on Oct. 12 against the Los Angeles Kings.
Savard is also a big power play asset for Boston, gaining 14 assists on the man advantage this season, which is tied for fifth in the league.
Savard only has eight goals in account of his 39-point season thus far, but he fits a similar mold to that of New York's Scott Gomez and Thornton. Those two players are supreme playmakers, and don't make a name for themselves based on scores. They set up their teammates and are perfectly happy raking in the points based on high-assist marks.
If Savard had more talented wingers around him than the likes of Marco Sturm and Glen Murray, he could probably be a hell of a lot better than he is now. And with about $4.7 million in cap space according to nhlnumbers.com, the Bruins should look to invest in a scoring winger to put alongside Savard for the remainder of the season, which will help with the injury bug and also give the center more talent. Let's be honest, Savard is the best player on the team and he is their franchise guy at the moment. The team has to be built around him.
I think after this break, the Bruins can get back on track. It all starts with their goaltending getting back into form, primarily with Thomas shaking the injury rust off completely and just getting back to playing net like he has been since being given a chance two years ago, post-lockout. From a management perspective, it wouldn't hurt to take a look at the players out there on the market and see if they can invest some of their cap space into a valuable forward that can mix well with Savard's playmaking ability.
Goaltending and Savard are, after all, the keys to keeping the Bruins on pace for the playoffs, and on pace to be the team with the best turnaround from last season.
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Until next week, you have just been Inside The Penalty Box!
he Boston Bruins are losers of their last four games, and are starting to feel the effects of fatigue and injuries on their organization. In fact, the month of December has not been kind to the Bruins, as they are 5-6-2 this month going into the holiday break.
