BEAR FACTS: Boston Bruins' January Report Card

The Month of January for the Bruins has been very good for the boys in black and gold.

Going into the All-Star break, the Bruins currently hold first place in their division, which earned them third place in the conference.

Tim Thomas is currently tops in the league with a save percentage of 0.945, a goals against average of 1.80 and seven shutouts.  His record to date is 24-5-6.  He is on his way to the All-Star weekend.

Patrice Bergeron has been coming alive as of late.  Having played 50 games, he has 40 points while earning his first career hat trick. He's tied for second place on the team for a plus/minus of plus-21.

It's no surprise that the team's captain, Zdeno Chara, has started off late but his plus/minus is a consistently on the plus side.  He leads the team at plus-22 and that ties him with Pittsburgh Penguins' Kris Letang and Philadelphia Flyers' Matt Carle at fourth place. He is also on his way to the All-Star Weekend.

Rookie Sensation?

With the hype regarding Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, the Bruins have a very good rookie in Seguin.  

Not to take anything way from Hall, but the Seguin is benefiting from the depth that the Bruins currently have over that of the rebuilding Edmonton Oilers that Hall has to contend with.

The biggest surprise is that of Brad Marchand, who currently leads the league in short-handed goals with four.  His active stick while defending the blue line and the bursts of speed he can produce are crucial in the penalty kill, as they gives the opposition much to think about when they see him on the ice.

Offense

In January, the Bruins played 14 games and boast an 8-4-2 record earning 18 out of a possible 28 points.

Goals for the Bruins were at 50 and goals against were at 35.  So far, they are fifth in the conference for goals for at 152.  A far cry from the basement last year.

Defense

The Bruins, not surprisingly, are first in the league with 112 goals against leading up to the break.  The Pittsburgh Penguins are a close second with 114.

Overall, the Bruins have played well at the Blue line, but I have seen defensive breakdowns that have cost them some games.  

Because of their improved offense, the Bruins are enjoying a somewhat comfortable position, but need to pick it up at the latter half of the season if they want to keep home-ice advantage.

Injury-Free...Sort Of...

The Bruins are not inflicted with the injuries they went through like last year with Tim Thomas playing hurt.

Marc Savard was suffering from a severe concussion and is not going through a mild concussion at the hands of former Bruin Matt Hunwick.

Mark Stuart had a broken hand but has recovered.  He has been a healthy scratch as the defense men have been playing well.  Still, Stuart's strength and size are a huge asset for the black and gold.

Anyone who has been hurt, with the exception of Savard and David Krejci, has been hurt for a relatively short time, giving the B's an easier time with their opponents overall.

All-Star Break

Three Bruins made it to the All-Star Weekend—Chara, Thomas and Seguin.

Chara broke his own record with a 105.9 MPH slap shot to win the hardest shot competition for a fourth year in a row.

He was beaten by Shea Weber in the opening rounds but earned the final round with the second-hardest shot.  That opened the door to rip a shot to which he broke his own record of 105.4 MPH.

Tim Thomas did well the elimination breakaway competition and had a good laugh when he was head-to-head with Cam Ward in the fast goalie race, where he wiped out in the final turn.  

His never-give-up attitude was shining as he quickly got up and made the dash for the finish line but Ward had him beat.

Grade:  A-

The Good

Limited Injuries, offense, defense.  Tim Thomas is back on his game.

The Bad

Costly defensive breakdowns has cost them some games.

The Ugly

This month, the ugly was occurring at the beginning of the month, but it got better, so not so much ugly this month.

This is Cory Ducey saying "Hit Hard But Keep It Clean"