Gresh & Zo: 2013-14 Bruins Are Better Than The 2011 Stanley Cup Winners
BOSTON (CBS) - The Boston Bruins just secured their tenth straight victory, and Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak got right to the point to open their show, asking, "Is this team better than the team that won the cup?"
Gresh asked Zolak to answer using simply the eye-test, and after a long pause Zo responded, "I don't know, I want to say yes."
"I think they're a better team on paper," he continued, "But there's something to be said for a hot goaltender."
The talk then turned to the stellar run that Tim Thomas had in the 2011 playoffs, and Gresh said he believed that the goalie stole series for a Bruins team that was not as well rounded.
He then went on to make a bold claim.
"I think this team is better for one reason and one reason only . . . their top-three lines right now are better than they ever were during that run."
The Bruins top-three lines currently consist of David Krejci centering Milan Lucic and Jarome Iginla, Patrice Bergeron centering Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith, and a third line of Carl Soderberg, Loui Erikkson and Chris Kelly.
For comparative purposes, when they won the Stanley Cup their top-three lines were Horton-Krejci-Lucic, Marchand-Bergeron-Recchi, and Peverley-Kelly-Ryder.
Gresh went on to cite a number of statistics separating this year's team from the Cup winners, most notably a vastly improved power play.
It remains to be seen whether the 2014 Boston Bruins will get their names engraved on Lord Stanley's hardware, but they're making a good case for themselves right now.
You can listen to the entire discussion below:
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