After just one month of hockey, analyzing any teams has the potential be a difficult endeavor, especially in the 2024-25 season where there have been surprises on both ends of the spectrum. Some teams, out of the gate, have gone on surprisingly-solid runs (I’m looking at you Winnipeg Jets), some have come out flat, and some are right in the middle of the road.
Two years removed from winning the Presidents’ Trophy, the Boston Bruins find themselves somewhere in the middle of the pack: not a bad start to the season, but also not a great start either – at least by their standards.
Related: Should the Bruins Panic About Their Slow Start?
Going into November, 11 games into the season, the Bruins find themselves sitting at 4-6-1 and while there are 71 games left to go and to pick up the slack, it has not looked good so far for Boston. On the bright side, it could be miles worse.
So far, the biggest detriment to the Bruins’ start has been their inability to score goals and inability to defend opposing goal scorers as their goal differential currently sits at minus-13 with 29 goals for and 42 against. Where to correctly attribute these results is up in the air at the moment. Perhaps the goaltending is out of sync, perhaps the defense is a bit slow out of the gate, or maybe even the forwards just don’t mesh together yet.
Despite their slow start, however, there have been some bright spots for Boston to start the season, and here are three players who stand out as stars for them through one month of hockey.
Third Star – Elias Lindholm
Elias Lindholm has had a solid start to his time in Boston since signing a seven-year deal in the offseason with the team. Lindholm has shown an ability to be the true top-line center the Bruins have searched for since Patrice Bergeron’s retirement.
Thus far, he has played in all 11 games and has tallied two goals and four assists for six points. While those numbers are not at the top of the list for the Bruins, Lindholm sits tied for third and second on the team in goals and assists, respectively. The fact he has not spent any time in the penalty box is really what puts him in the three stars though.
In what was a very undisciplined October, Lindholm is one of three players, outside of Boston’s two goaltenders, who have not committed a penalty. The other two are Justin Brazeau and Andrew Peeke. In…
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