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Boston Bruins
Overall: 15
Northeast Division: 2
They
grow
up so fast, don't they? That's the lesson the Bruins
learned last season when new coach Pat Burns, who was
brought in to oversee a
rebuilding project, coaxed 39 wins and a playoff appearance
from a group of players who looked as if they should have
spent their time watching
Teletubbies rather than video of their opponents. Burns played the
stern parent—pulling ears, administering verbal
spankings—and the Baby B's added 30 points to their
NHL-worst 1996-97 total of
61.
That improvement was partly due to the breakout play of the
Bruins' young stars and partly to the fact that their
season was pretty much a sneak attack on everybody. Boston
won't have that advantage this season. "This year
teams aren't going to say,
'The Bruins are in town, and they're
easy,'" says Burns, who was the league's coach of the year.
"They're going to say, 'We have to work to beat these
guys.'"
To do that opponents will have to keep up with a group of
skaters who put the fleet into the FleetCenter. Mighty mite
(5'8") left wing Sergei Samsonov, 19, scored 22 goals and
won the Calder Trophy. His linemate, 23-year-old center
Jason
Allison, led the team in scoring with 83 points and blossomed
into one of the most dangerous players in the league.
Quick, burly 21-year-old Kyle McLaren has proved that he's
ready to anchor the defense if Ray Bourque, who comes back
for his 20th season, ever
retires.
To return to the postseason the Bruins, who had only two
50-plus-point scorers last season, have to find more
balance on offense. They would love
19-year-old center Joe Thornton (the No. 1 pick in the 1997
draft) to live up to expectations after a disappointing
rookie season beset by injuries and inconsistency. He spent
the summer improving his less-than-stellar conditioning
habits and added 15 pounds of
muscle.
Expecting repeat performances from so many kids is risky,
though, especially since at week's end Allison, McLaren and
winger Anson Carter had each missed all or most of camp
because of contract squabbles. But Burns's defensive system
and goaltender Byron Dafoe should smother
opponents—and get the Bruins back into the playoffs.
They'll have to grow up a bit more to have any success
beyond
that.
—By Stephen Cannella
Fast Fact
Last season
37-year-old defenseman Ray Bourque led NHL players in ice time,
with 2,462 minutes, 18
more than Blackhawks backliner Chris
Chelios.
Keys To Success
- The Bruins must find a way to keep their older defensemen—Ray
Bourque, 37, Dave Ellett, 34, Grant Ledyard, 36, and Don Sweeney,
32—healthy.
- Boston won't sneak up on anybody the way it did last season, so
the younger Bruins must continue to outwork the opposition.
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