The Bruins back-to-back wins over Nashville and Carolina gave Boston some momentum heading into Saturday’s showdown with Florida as well as some yeast in the different power rankings from national media.
To keep power ranking lists from becoming repetitive, the different outlets usually include a different side angle for each team too. Some are a little more original than others.
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Here’s where the Bruins landed on the lists and what the different sites said about them:
Rank: 4
This week The Athletic didn’t get fancy. They simply explained their rankings.
“It’s tough not to like Boston’s goalies. This week, Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have both posted huge wins (Ullmark’s shutout against Nashville, Swayman’s 28-save game against Carolina). The playoff net still feels like it’ll be Ullmark’s to lose — he’s fourth in the league in save percentage since the trade deadline (.950) and fifth in GSAx — but Swayman’s last couple of starts were a welcome return to form.
Most importantly, Ullmark pulled into a tie with Swayman in the scoring race. Both have one assist.”
Rank: 4
ESPN highlighted each team’s rookie of the year and appears to be higher on Mason Lohrei’s immediate impact than the Bruins themselves Lohrei has shown huge potential, but this is more glowing that he many have earned:
“Bruins coach Jim Montgomery can put Mason Lohrei anywhere and watch him thrive. Lohrei has taken on top-pairing minutes and penalty kill responsibilities, and averages over 16 minutes per game as an integral piece of Boston’s back end. Add to that Lohrei’s penchant for shot blocks and well-timed hits, and it’s enough to earn him some Calder attention.”
Rank: 3
NHL looked at how each team compared to preseason expectations:
“Full credit to the Bruins. Which is to say that, no, I did not expect them to be in first place in the Atlantic Division, still in the running to win the Presidents’ Trophy for a second straight season. And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone, a group that probably included a few people on the payroll of the Bruins. When they lost both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement after a historically good regular season in 2022-23, no one — including me — thought they would be one of the best teams in the NHL all season. I thought they’d probably make the playoffs, but maybe be third in the Atlantic, maybe a wild-card team.”
Rank: 5
SportsNet highlighted each team’s MVP:
“It’s incredible the way David Pastrnak has just chugged along following the retirement of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, the two centres he’s spent most of his career beside. The 27-year-old Czech has 46 goals and — with 104 points — could equal the 113 he put up last year when he finished second in Hart voting to Connor McDavid.”
Rank: 5
“The Bruins are clinging to a narrow lead over the Panthers, and the two teams have a battle on tap for this coming weekend. It seems like it’s going to come down the wire, but the Bruins have been a tad more consistent than the Panthers in recent weeks.”
