Bruins 2012 New Year's Resolutions
BOSTON (CBS) - Saturday night we bid farewell to 2011.
Some people use New Year's Eve to do something a little different for one night, which was obviously the Bruins' philosophy as they actually went out and lost a game. The defeat in Dallas aside, 2011 was a magical season that featured a Stanley Cup championship and a 24-10-1 record so far this season.
When you factor in Boston's 3-7-0 start this season, they're an amazing 21-3-1 since November 1. The Bruins' 2011 calendar year was by far the envy of the entire NHL.
Read: Matt Kalman On CBSBoston
Making 2012 as successful, or even close, is going to be a difficult task. The Bruins are bound to tire after playing more than 100 games last season, opponents are going to improve and gun for them more, and sooner or later they're going to have to deal with a major injury like pretty much every other team in the league.
With all that in mind, here are some resolutions key members of the Bruins should make in order to assure their contributions to the team's performance:
General manager Peter Chiarelli
Don't get fooled by the team's general overall health. Sooner or later, maybe even at the worst possible time, you're going to get caught short on the back end due to injury. It happens to every team. So go out and get your team a strong, veteran seventh defenseman. Steven Kampfer might be able to fill that role, but we don't really know what we have with the second-year blueliner. A veteran would provide competition for Kampfer and also give the Bruins a safety net should two defensemen go down. Chiarelli has to make sure his league-conquering juggernaut doesn't get derailed by injury.
Forward Tyler Seguin
Remember to block out all the media hype and ass-kissing and go out and play as though you're a fourth-liner with a ton of talent. If Seguin just rests on his skating and shooting skills, he'll be a perennial 30-goal scorer. If he plays with a bit of an edge and does some grinding when necessary – like we saw him do early in the year – he could blossom into a two-way center in the Patrice Bergeron mold with a mile of more offensive upside. The choice is yours, Tyler.
Stats: 2011-12 Bruins Team Stats
Forward Brad Marchand
This might be a little bit of reverse thinking, but you should try to get into at least one disciplinary run-in with head coach Claude Julien or the NHL. Every time Marchand comes back from a suspension or benching, he does it like with the impact of a rock through a windshield. Plus, when he's getting into trouble that means he's doing his best to be a difference maker both with his skills and his mouth. With the way Marchand's scoring, it'll be easy for him to focus just on production and get away from the extracurricular activities. He has to remember what makes him one of the league's most dangerous players, or in Julien's words, he has to be a "good brat." If he crosses the line to being a "bad brat" at least we'll know he's trying.
Goaltenders Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask
Keep on supporting, competing with, and admiring one another. We all know that Thomas probably has more than just one great year beyond his current contract left in him. It's obvious Rask is ready to be a No. 1 and should be paid as such by someone come next summer when he's scheduled to be a restricted free agent. There will be lulls in the schedule when one guy might not get enough playing time. Both guys are going to endure off nights when it looks like he shouldn't be playing. Most nights, however, one of them is going to be playing like the greatest goalie in the game. They're No. 1 and 2 in save percentage (with Rask leading the league) and No. 1 and 5 in goals-against average (with Rask again in the lead). As a duo they have a chance to make a historic stamp on the sport and they are the key to a repeat championship. So far their harmonious relationship has kept the focus on their play and not their individual wants and desires. If they can keep it that way through the end of this season, they'll both reap the rewards in the future, and the Bruins might make a little history as well.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com. He operatesTheBruinsBlog.net and also contributes coverage to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
