Boston Bruins: Player-by-Player Third Quarter Report Cards

The Boston Bruins have completed a little more than three quarters of their 2011-12 regular-season schedule. And they are still in a prime position to cement second place in the Eastern Conference despite an agonizing October and an ongoing, spotty stretch of seven-plus weeks.

Beneath a point total of 79 that is tied for seventh in the NHL, an offense that still ranks second in the league and a defense that is good for fourth overall, lies a dense conglomeration of players who have virtually lost their chance for a final A-range grade. Many, however, have at least sustained a healthy B-range mark with the help of their contributions to the brighter moments of the season up to this point.

In descending order, here is each Boston regular (i.e. those on the active NHL roster who have not been traded or traded for) and the evaluation he has earned between October and February.

Patrice Bergeron: A/A-minus

Even amidst the team’s recent offensive downturn, Bergeron has still had only one scoreless skid lasting three games this season, and only six others lasting two consecutive games. Lately, unless the whole team is shut out (which happened five times in February), the odds have been in favor of Bergeron chipping in on the scoresheet.

In addition, out of his first 61 appearances, the multifaceted pivot has had an even or winning record at the face-off dot 49 times.

Rich Peverley: A-minus

In terms of losing a regular to injury, there are no good choices.  But Peverley is one of the worst choices. When healthy and available, he has appeared on the scoresheet about as regularly as Bergeron and, despite being a winger, takes and wins his share of face-offs before setting up yet another scoring chance.

Zdeno Chara: B-plus

The captain stumbled egregiously for about six games last month and hit a few speed bumps in January, but has otherwise continued to contribute at both ends. Barring any future slumps, his 2011-12 transcript should hardly be off the mark from his previous four seasons.

Johnny Boychuk: B-plus

Boychuk is another injured Bruin who is particularly missed. He is one of those whose recent statistical lapses are less of a reflection on himself than on the team’s universal struggles.

Andrew Ference: B

Ference has stalled a bit during the team’s February frostbite, but not as egregiously as most of his mates.

Nathan Horton: B

Leading up to a concussion via Philadelphia’s Tom Sestito on Jan. 22, Horton was holding up his spot in the top echelon of the Bruins’ scoring chart. But he was beginning to collect his points in bunches (i.e. two-goal games) and, along with linemates David Krejci and Milan Lucic, was doing his defensive resume no favors.

Milan Lucic: B

Whether or not the power forward can match his career-high collection of 30 strikes is anyone’s guess. Overall, Lucic’s performances have been more commendable than most of his teammates, but he could still stand to demonstrate a little more consistency.

Tuukka Rask: B

Rask is winless in his last six outings, dating back to Jan. 21, and only once in that span has he confined the opposition to a single goal or posted a save percentage of .910 or better.  It happened in his most recent venture against Buffalo, a 2-1 shootout loss.

In fairness, though, the recent disappearance of the Rask everyone saw between mid-November and mid-January could partially be attributed to his recent recession in ice time.

Tyler Seguin: B

The team’s nascent sniper entered Thursday night’s tilt with New Jersey nursing a 10-game goalless drought (which he did put to an end). And he had a team-leading 185 shots on goal, but only 20 goals and a 10.8 percent connectivity rate to show for it.

Hardly up to the standard the 20-year-old had set in November and December, but perhaps March 1st marks a U-turn back on the upswing.

Tim Thomas: B

At least one Bruin, on an individual basis, can claim to have won consecutive games in recent memory. That was what Thomas did in back-to-back starts versus St. Louis and Ottawa last week.

Coincidentally, beginning with a tough loss in a staring contest with Minnesota Niklas Backstrom, Thomas has apparently turned back in the right direction after starting the year 2012 with a protracted fit of futility.

Brad Marchand: B-minus

Marchand is in the same group as Lucic and Horton in terms of cumulative shooting percentage. But he was largely frostbitten throughout February, and so soon after he had practically matched his rookie numbers in half the time of 2010-11.

Dennis Seidenberg: B-minus

Seidenberg’s offensive output, which is largely comprised of assists, receded to the point where he notched one point in February. In addition, the start of the Bruins’ futile search for a winning streak also marked the start of a plus/minus freefall for the German blueliner, who lost 13 consecutive points in that column over 19 games between Jan. 14 and Feb. 19.

But it is worth noting that Seidenberg has not ceased to throw hits or block shots at his typical rate. That much is still status quo.

Chris Kelly: B-minus/C-plus

With two goals and four assists in his last 24 games, and a 1-4-5 log over his last 11 outings, Kelly has essentially copied Marchand in the sense of hitting a pothole right when he reached the borderline of a career year.

Kelly’s productivity on the team’s recent six-game road trip signaled a potential pivot back in the right direction, but he still has several strides to make before he replenishes enough of his first-half radiance.

Adam McQuaid: B-minus/C-plus

The stay-at-home defenseman’s game went awry and inevitably tagged him with several forgettable outings in January that spilled into early February. But more recently, McQuaid appears to have picked his physicality back up and has emulated Boychuk and Seidenberg’s shot-blocking habit.

Daniel Paille: C-Plus

Starting with the team’s last game before the All-Star Break, Paille’s plus/minus has tumbled from a plus-seven to a zero. And he has only one point—a goal against Nashville—in that span.

Shawn Thornton: C-plus

In comparison to Paille, Thornton has been similarly silent on the scoresheet in recent memory, although his defensive track record has not suffered as much. In addition, his effort has been reflected on multiple occasions within the last month in the form of seven multi-shot outings.

Gregory Campbell: C

At least his linemates Paille and Thornton got that goal and assist three weeks ago. Campbell is pointless with a steadily accrued minus-eight rating since the late-January respite. He has also had more than his fair share of wretched nights at the face-off circle.

David Krejci: C

His Thursday night hat trick versus New Jersey is only good for a turnaround if he builds on it throughout the fourth quarter.

In the month of February, Krejci tallied two goals and no assists while his plus/minus rating steadily dipped by seven points. During Boston’s seven-week lull without a single set of consecutive victories, beginning Jan. 14, his rating plummeted by 11 points.

It even reached a point where the nominal first-line center was temporarily rostered, neither as a first-liner nor as a center.

Benoit Pouliot: C

Over the last 20 games, a time when his services have been needed the most, Pouliot has mustered all of one goal and one assist. In between, he has had pointless skids lasting three, eight and seven games.

Funny, because someone of the same name, uniform number and position collected six goals and 13 points in a span of 18 games between Nov. 26 and Jan. 10. Whatever happened to him?

Jordan Caron: C/C-minus

Caron is still not ready to step in and supplement an injury-plagued strike force for an extended period, and it’s been showing for the last month.

Joe Corvo: C-minus/D-plus

One of only four skaters to see action in each of the Bruins’ first 61 games and fourth on the team in shots on goal, Corvo still has only three goals to his credit. And he is still fostering a shooting percentage roughly one-third of any previous success rates.

Concerning his day job on defense, Corvo’s frequent turnovers almost make one wonder if he has set up as many goals in his own end as he has in the attacking zone.

This is no longer borderline ridiculous. It is just plain ridiculous.