The Boston Bruins are sitting pretty as Turkey Day approaches.
NHL.com ranked the Bruins No. 2 and ESPN.com slotted them at No. 3 on Thursday in the latest editions of their power NHL rankings. These lofty positions in the weekly polls reflect the Bruins’ impressive record after 22 games, which has them atop the Eastern Conference standings with 33 points.
The Bruins moved up one place in NHL.com’s “Super 16” power rankings. Here’s one hit and one miss from Boston’s recent games, per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen.
Hit: Center David Krejci has six assists in his past four games.
Miss: The Bruins are 0-4 in the shootout this season, including three shootout losses in their past five games.
Only the Washington Capitals are ahead of the Bruins in the league website writers’ reckoning.
The Bruins fell to No. 3 last week in ESPN’s power rankings, and they’ll remain there for at least another week. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan centers her assessment of the Bruins on the less heralded member of their elite goaltending tandem.
“How about some love for Jaroslav Halak? Tuukka Rask has been excellent this season, in large part because of his managed workload,” Kaplan wrote. “Halak has started eight games, going 4-1-3 with a .924 save percentage.”
ESPN.com and NHL.com probably won’t release their next NHL power rankings until after Thanksgiving, so Bruins fans will have to feast on this week’s servings until then. Gobble gobble.
