1st game tonight. Pretty exciting. Chara is one of my favorite players. He's a beast and his work ethic is unparalleled.


I notice Hazel Mae is hosting a weekly show about the Bruins. I'm guessing Keith Foulke will be a big fan.

Gah, I still can't get used to the "new NHL". So many penalties.

I believe that there are serious question marks about this Bruins team. So many so that I have a very hard time seeing them being very good this year.

Let's start in the back. Goaltending might be the biggest (as well as the most obvious) problem area. Toinoven has all the ability in the world, but as of right now he is not nearly consistent enough to be a number one. Thomas hasn't shown me enough either and I have doubts as to whether he ever will. It should go without saying that one of them needs to step up big time if this is going to be even a playoff team.

Second: The defense. I really like the top 3 of Chara, Stuart, and Mara. I think Alberts is actually a decent #5 or 6 defenseman. He's not going to give much offense but if he plays solid D you'll be happy with him. York, however, is the definition of a "fringe" NHLer. In fact, he didn't even play in the NHL last year. I don't think Dempsey is a whole lot better. I was hoping Mark Stuart would make the team this year, but he's currently on the IR. I'm not sure if this month and half setback will mean that he doesn't end up contributing much to the Bruins this year. Can you field a good hockey team with York, Dempsey, and Alberts all getting significant minutes? Im not so sure.

Third: The forwards. Kessel has looked good so far. The goals should start to come. They had better, too, because there is a serious issue with forward depth on this team. Its generally not a wise idea to rely on a guy 4 months removed from being drafted to play a significant role. But thats what youre forced to do when you go into the season with only five proven NHLers capable of playing on one of the top two lines (Bergeron, Boyes, Savard, Sturm, Murray). The Bruins will be fortunate to get 30 goals combined from the third line of Axelsson, Primeau, and Donovan. I think that the Bruins will need big offensive seasons from Chara, Stuart, and Mara and to have each one of the top six forwards basically have as good of a year as they are capable of to have a decent offense.

Anybody know what the Bruins cap figure is?

I'm not a huge fan of forwards on the point of the PP myself. I thought the umbrella power play the Bruins used last night with Stuart at the point and Chara screening the goalie was a definite improvement, though I only watched the first period.

The issue with Mara on the PK may be that the Bruins don't have enough quality defensemen to keep him off the ice. Despite his defensive struggles, he may in fact be better on the PK than York and perhaps Dempsey or Alberts.