The preseason question surrounding the Boston Bruins was how they would weather the absences of injured Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy.
The answer is they would breeze through it and the rest of the first part of the NHL season.
Now the question is whether they can break the NHL record of 62 wins in a season. The Bruins, who got both players back earlier than expected, enter the All-Star break with a .814 winning percentage, better than the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning finished with when they set and tied the record.
The Bruins lead the Presidents’ Trophy race by seven points and the Atlantic Division race by 13.
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Here are our grades for all 32 NHL teams heading into the All-Star break:
Anaheim Ducks – D
The addition of Frank Vatrano, Ryan Strome and John Klingberg was supposed to help the youth-driven team improve. Even with winning their final three games before the break, they’re on pace to get 14 fewer points. They have the league’s worst goal differential (-80) and didn’t get their first regulation win until Nov. 23.
Arizona Coyotes – D
They’ve been in a long-term rebuilding project and had a road-heavy start to the season. It will take them a while before they improve, unless they land Connor Bedard in the draft lottery.
Boston Bruins – A+
A recently ended three-game winless streak doesn’t discount their greatness this season. Coach Jim Montgomery has the team humming after the Bruins moved on from Bruce Cassidy. David Pastrnak is playing himself into a nice raise, Hampus Lindholm led the defense with McAvoiy out and Linus Ullmark set an NHL season record for fastest goalie to 25 wins. Expect the Bruins to make a move to enhance their Stanley Cup chances in case this is Patrice Bergeron’s final season.
Buffalo Sabres – B
Tage Thompson is scoring impressive goals and Rasmus Dahlin is having a career season. They have four 50-point scorers, and Alex Tuch (55) has more points than Jack Eichel (34), the player he was traded for last season. Thompson got hurt right before the break and his health will play a big role, but the Sabres have a chance to break their 11-year playoff drought.
Calgary Flames – B-
The Flames had a major offseason revamp (Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk out, Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie…