On the heels of another dominant performance, it might be safe to put the Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup hangover stories to bed. The defending champions are on a three-game winning streak in which they crushed their opponents 18-5.
There are reasons to believe that the fun is just beginning, too, as tonight’s 6-2 romp against the New York Islanders began a five-game homestand. Let’s take a quick look at the many promising signs.
Quick starts: Versus provides an interesting look at how the Bruins have been scoring in lightning-fast two-goal bunches during their three-game streak:
- Two goals in 37 seconds (vs. Ottawa).
- Two goals in eight seconds, two goals in 14 seconds and two goals in 28 seconds (vs. Toronto).
- Two goals in 29 seconds and two goals in 49 seconds (vs. the Islanders).
In total, that’s 12 goals in less than three minutes. Bruins fans would be well-advised to wait until intermission periods to get up from their seats during this homestand.
Both goalies are getting in on the act: Tim Thomas earned a shutout against the Maple Leafs while Tuukka Rask finally earned a win tonight. That’s a great sign for easily one of the best goalie duos in the NHL.
Everyone’s scoring: For a while, it seemed like the Bruins would need to rely upon Tyler Seguin’s Stamkos-like sophomore surge for offense this season. He’s still red-hot (Seguin scored his eighth goal of 2011-12), but the Bruins must be pleased with three-point nights from struggling top-liners Nathan Horton and David Krejci. (Milan Lucic is playing well again, too, with two points in his own right.)
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Much like their slow start, this three-game surge can be attributed to “fun with small samples.” That being said, the Bruins can climb their way back into the Northeast Division title mix if they cash in on this five-game span of home cooking.
Update: here are some highlights of their 6-2 win.