Rask has been impressive for the Bruins. (AP Photo)
Only two teams on tap today. I don't have the leave the Northeast Division, but I do have to leave the country, as the teams being covered today are the Bruins and the Senators. Of course, I will only be leaving the country metaphorically speaking. This kind of work is all done on computers these days.
Boston Bruins (16-9-5, good for 37 points): Early in the season people were worried about the Bruins after a slow start and some goaltending issues. Now, they sit atop the Northeast after an 8-1-1 run. Granted, they are only a point up on Buffalo who has two games in hand, but the premise remains valid. The Bruins are doing just fine, and they have nothing to worry about, provided Marc Savard doesn't get injured again.
Patrice Bergeron is still leading the team in points with 24, but Savard has 14 in the 15 games he's played. He's still the focal point of this offense. The Bruins should probably be a bit worried about their secondary scoring, and if they don't pick it up soon they'll be looking like a Stanley Cup longshot, but they've still got goaltending and defense. Tim Thomas, despite a rough start, has good numbers on the season (2.48 GAA, .914 SV%), however it is Boston's increased use of Tuukka Rask (1.97 GAA, .932 SV%) that has really helped them. You know, the old adage goes that if you have two goalies you really have none. Well, I say if you have two really good goalies you have two really good goalies and that is a luxury few teams in the league can afford. It should be enough to easily propel Boston to the playoffs.
Ottawa Senators (15-11-4, good for 34 points): The Senators are scoring at a good rate, but they don't have a particularly impressive offense. They aren't the most sound team on the defensive end, but they are doing good enough. As such, it should come as no surprise that the Senators have been pretty much average this season. The good news for Ottawa is that average might be enough in a less than stellar Eastern Conference this season. It's times like these that the fact a team playing in Detroit is in the Western Conference annoys me, but I digress...
Daniel Alfredsson is leading the team in points (28) but Mike Fisher of all people is right behind him with 25 and he's missed two games. Mike Fisher! At this point in the season, he's been playing a bit too well to consider this a fluky start. At the very least, he's in for a career year. Meanwhile, Jason Spezza (three goals, 17 points) and Alexi Kovalev (four goals, 14 points) have been disappointing and Jonathan Cheechoo has been what was expected, which is terrible (three goals, seven points). In net, Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott provide consistent goaltending, as both have played in 16 games and have .901 save percentages, though Leclaire has a slightly lower GAA. There's a chance that Spezza or Kovalev turn it around, and my money would be on Spezza if I were to make a prediction, and it will probably be needed if Ottawa wants to do anything beyond ekeing into the playoffs.
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