Boston Bruins: 5 Reasons Defending Champs Are the NHL's Best Team

With Sidney Crosby returning to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, many people are anointing them as the Stanley Cup favorites.

Well, the best team in the NHL is the team who the Stanley Cup last season, the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins have the best defensive depth, the best goaltending tandem in hockey by far and have several high-quality forwards.

Boston has won nine straight games and look almost unbeatable, outscoring opponents 42-14 during their current winning streak.

Let's look at five reasons why the Bruins are the NHL's best team.

For updates on all NHL/Bruins news throughout the season, follow Nick Goss on Twitter. Follow @NicholasGoss35

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.

Bruins Have the Best Goalie in the NHL and a Fantastic Backup

Tim Thomas won the Vezina Trophy and the Conn Smythe award last season for his amazing play, and many thought he would surely regress this season.

Thomas has proven he's still the best goalie in the NHL, and is second in the league with a 1.77 GAA and third in save percentage with a .938 mark.

Thomas' backup Tuukka Rask has also played quite well this season despite receiving almost no offensive support in his first few starts this year.

Rask is one of the best young goalies in the NHL and the Bruins would be foolish to trade him.

Tyler Seguin Has Given Boston a Dominant Offensive Player

The Bruins have not had a dominant goal scorer since Cam Neely, but young forward Tyler Seguin is becoming an elite NHL player.

Seguin leads the Bruins with 11 goals and 22 points. His 10 assists are tied for second on the team.

Seguin's offense ignites the Bruins and his unbelievable speed and vision creates glorious scoring opportunities for him and his teammates.

His defensive abilities are also rapidly improving, and Seguin is second in the NHL with a 17 plus-minus rating trailing only Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators.

Seguin is the most exciting player the Bruins have had since Bobby Orr. Every time he touches the puck and rushes up the ice, the excitement of the crowd raises several notches.

Bruins Defense Has Tremendous Depth

Zdeno Chara is again playing like a top defenseman this season at both ends of the ice. In addition to his great defensive play, the Bruins captain has 12 assists to lead the team and also has two goals.

Dennis Seidenberg is one the most underrated defenseman in the NHL, and so is teammate Adam McQuaid, who is becoming a physical force.

Andrew Ference is another solid player with great leadership qualities, and Joe Corvo and Johnny Boychuk are two offensively skilled defensemen who help the power play.

Boston can roll out any defensive pairing combination against any top NHL scoring line and be comfortable. Not many teams can say that.

Teams Cannot Match Boston's Physical Play

The Bruins are the most physical and intimidating team in the NHL. They have size and toughness on every line and pairing, but they know how to be rough without taking a lot of penalties.

Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton are two top power forwards, Shawn Thornton is a veteran presence who brings great energy with his toughness and the Bruins defense has so many intimidating players.

Zdeno Chara, Adam McQuaid and Dennis Seidenberg are three of the better physical defenseman in the NHL, and they make life miserable for opponents.

Teams have a real tough time matching the physicality of the Bruins, who wear teams down over the course of a single night or a seven-game series.

The Seguin-Bergeron-Marchand Line Is Almost Unstoppable

Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand have created one of the top lines in the NHL that there are very few ways to defend.

Bergeron is an exquisite passer and an elite defensive forward. Seguin is one of the league's fastest and most skilled offensive talents, and Marchand is a tremendous player who gets under the skin of opponents.

This line has been on fire recently and you can bet head coach Claude Julien won't break it up anytime soon.

The three of them have very few weaknesses and they are just as dangerous defensively as they are offensively.