Boston Bruins 2009 Season Preview, Picks & Odds

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Boston Bruins 2008-’09 record:
53-19-10, 116 points (1st in Northeast, 1st in East)

Boston Bruins 2008-’09 playoffs:
Defeated Montreal Canadiens 4-0; lost to Carolina Hurricanes 4-3

Last year was an extremely successful season for the Bruins as they finished the regular season with a 53-19-10 record and earned the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. In fact, they only fell one point short of the President’s Trophy! The Bruins’ deep lineup featured seven 20 goal scorers and they entered the playoffs as one of the favorites for the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, they were felled in overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Semifinals, ending a fantastic season on a major down note.

Boston Bruins 2009 Preview

Boston Bruins General manager: Peter Chiarelli (129-89-28, 4th NHL season, 1st team)

Boston Bruins Coach: Claude Julien (215-134-21, 7th NHL season, 3rd team)

Boston Bruins Captain: Zdeno Chara

Boston Bruins Top Returning Scorer: C Marc Savard (25 goals, 63 assists, 88 points)

Boston Bruins Top Returning Goalie: Tim Thomas (36-11-7, 2.10, .933)

Boston Bruins Key Additions: LW Steve Begin; C Trent Whitfield; D Derek Morris.

Boston Bruins Key Subtractions: C Stephane Yelle; D Aaron Ward; D Steve Montador; LW Peter Schaefer; D Shane Hnidy; LW P.J. Axelsson; RW Phil Kessel; G Manny Fernandez; C Martin St. Pierre.

Boston Bruins Top Line: LW Milan Lucic, C Marc Savard, RW Michael Ryder

Boston Bruins Top Defensive Pairing: Zdeno Chara, Dennis Wideman

Despite losing Kessel, there is still a ton of scoring up front. Center Marc Savard is one of the truly elite playmakers in hockey and should once more fill the role of the team’s leading scorer. Around him, David Krejci, Mark Recchi, Milan Lucic, Chuck Kobasew, Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder form the core of an excellent set of forwards that should become one of the league’s most productive units this season. However, replacing Kessel’s 36 goals won’t be easy.

The Bruinss are also excellent on defense. Norris Trophy-winning defender Zdeno Chara and nifty puck handler Dennis Wideman both scored 50 points last year while putting up some of the league’s best plus/minus totals and are two of the best in hockey. Behind them, veterans Andrew Ference, Mark Stuart and Morris should pair with young Matt Hunwick to form an excellent top six on the blue line. This might be the Eastern Conference’s best set of defenders.

But the Bruins are also extremely solid in net, led by Vezina winner Tim Thomas, who also won the Jennings Trophy for least goals allowed last year. The Bruins are rock solid in terms of depth with Tukka Rask on hand as well and should boast one of the league’s best tandems.

2009 Boston Bruins Goaltending:

No longer the underappreciated journeyman, Thomas easily won the Vezina Trophy and First All-Star Team nod last season and is odds-on favorite to start for the U.S. at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Led NHL in save percentage and GAA and signed four-year, $20 million extension just prior to playoffs. Aggressive battler between the pipes has become a much better technician, refining his movements, but still tends to give up some juicy rebounds.

2009 Boston Bruins Player To Watch:

G Tuukka Rask. Opening is there for Bruins goalie-in-waiting to step up to the big club after finishing second in the AHL last season in victories, winning 33 times for Providence. Tall, quick butterfly goalie is the latest product of the Finnish goaltending factory looking to make his mark in NHL.

2009 Boston Bruins Offense:

The awards were plentiful for the Bruins, who also had the top defenseman, Chara, and coach of the year in Julien. Despite jumping from the No. 8 seed in 2008 to No. 1 in 2009, the season ended in disappointing fashion with a Game 7 home loss to upstart Carolina in the second round. Chara helped the Bruins allow a league-low 2.29 goals per game last season. He was sixth in average ice time at just over 26 minutes per game and 12th among defensemen with 50 points — including 19 goals. Boston will need to find a way to replace the team-high 36 goals scored by Kessel, who was traded to Toronto after the Bruins failed to reach a contract agreement with the restricted free agent.

Boston Bruins 2009 Season Predictions

A breakthrough regular season was followed by playoff heartbreak against Carolina, but the Bruins will benefit from a weak Northeast Division lineup to roll through the conference once more.

We predict that the Boston Bruins will finish 1st in the NHL Northeast, 2nd seed in East: 104 points.

Boston Bruins Betting

Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Odds: +1200
Boston Bruins Eastern Conference Odds: +500
Boston Bruins Northeast Odds: -125

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