Around the NHL in 30 Days – Boston Bruins

It is day 2 of FanSided’s Around the NHL in 30 Days. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins are in today’s spotlight over at the Causeway Crowd blog. No doubt the Bruins will be hungry to repeat as champions this year, and with their roster largely the same as last year they will be a contender. Nathan Horton is ready to go after being knocked out of the Stanley Cup Finals with a concussion, and Tim Thomas will be the number one goalie going into the season.

Say what you want about the Bruins last year, but there is no denying that their mix of young talent and veteran presence helped them to weather the storm from the Lightning and climb back into the series against the Canadiens. It looks like their young talent will be even more at the forefront this year as Tyler Seguin will look to build upon his experience as an NHL rookie last year.

Let’s take a look at the lone meeting between the Bruins and the Sharks last season:

One Game: February 5, 2011 Sharks @ Boston

The Sharks won this lone match-up 2-0. It was a very close game as the second Sharks goal was scored on an empty net. Your game-winning goal was scored by Logan Couture. It’s too bad that most of the Eastern Conference teams are hardly ever seen in San Jose. There are some good teams in the East that could end up producing an exciting game of hockey against the Sharks. The Sharks played only 3 teams from the Eastern Conference twice. Those teams were Buffalo, New Jersey, and Boston. All other Eastern Conference teams only played the Sharks once.

This year the lone meeting with the Bruins is in Boston on Saturday, October 22, 2011. If you are like me then you will be treating this game as an early season test to see how well the Sharks are playing. With the Bruins’ roster largely the same and their hunger to repeat as champs, the Sharks may have their hands full in this game. I’d love to see the Sharks get a victory against them. Remember to circle your calendar for this game!

Here’s a snippet of what the Causeway Crowd has to say about their Bruins:

"This season, all eyes are on the Bruins, who bring back a majority of their championship squad, including Vezina and Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas, playoff leading scorer David Krejci, and Norris finalist Zdeno Chara. With depth at every position, a veteran presence, and skilled young players pushing for playing time, the Bruins are poised to make a run at becoming the NHL’s first back-to-back champions since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998."

FanSided’s Around the NHL in 30 Days continues tomorrow with the Buffalo Sabres being profiled at Sabre Noise. What an appropriate title for the Sabres blog! I’ll tell you why tomorrow.

Do you think the Bruins will make it back to the Stanley Cup Finals? Notice I said make it to the Finals, but not win. That’s because the Sharks will be lifting the Cup this year!

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