Is the 2016 -2017 D' better than we think ?

[whatsbruin]

Lots of criticism of the B's defensemen, individually and as a unit, the entire year.

Chara not a #1, a pylon, all washed up
Krug, not a top 4, weak in his own end
K. Miller/A. McQuaid 5/6 D'men on a good team. Redundant, only need one.
Carlo over his head, hit the wall, should be a 2nd or 3rd pair.

We've heard it all, and looking at an individual game here and there you can
make these points stick. But look at the collective. Number 11 in Goals against,
tied with the Blackhawks. ( http://www.nhl.com/stats/team?aggre...17&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=goalsAgainst )

I would imagine most if not all would trade the B's D, with the Blackhawks D straight up. As a unit, are these guys :

• better than what most thnk they are ?
• shortfalls covered by goaltending ?
• Smoke and Mirrors ?

I think these guys just work well as a unit, and the Team D, is good. Hope it continues all the way thru the cup finals.

Click to read more...

 

[ODAAT]

While I`m continually surprised by how they have fared, I still see a D that, against opponents who possess speed and skill, they get exposed

 

[Gee Wally]

While I`m continually surprised by how they have fared, I still see a D that, against opponents who possess speed and skill, they get exposed

same.

I still have great concerns on their inability to get out of their own zone against fast and hard forechecking teams.

As soon as their little chip shots don't work they start running around. Get out of position and turn it into a Keystone Cops adventure.

 

[ODAAT]

same.

I still have great concerns on their inability to get out of their own zone against fast and hard forechecking teams.

As soon as their little chip shots don't work they start running around. Get out of position and turn it into a Keystone Cops adventure.

Agreed, that Hawks game was a great example of it and vs the Leafs I saw too much of that too

 

[BruinDust]

At lot of the concern was based on how the D fared in 2015-16. But if you look at each returnee independently.

Chara - Dropped weight, improved mobility and footspeed - Improved

Krug - Healthy since surgery recovery - Improved

McQuaid - Better mobility and puck movement, healthy - Improved

Kevan - Better mobility and puck movement - Improved

Colin - Improved in his own end, more steady and confident, work in progress - Improved

Liles - Was solid until his concussion, hasn't been in the line-up much since his return - Even

So of the 6 returning D, it's fair to say we've seen improved performance from 5 out of 6, and Liles has effectively been replaced with Carlo, which is also an improvement or upgrade over what we seen in 2015-16.

So when you essentially improve your entire D-corps internally, it makes a massive difference.

 

[ODAAT]

I think as we move forward for a few years to come, we`ll look back at this D and ask "how did they even make the playoffs"

I`ll hand it to them, they work hard, but there are 3 guys on that starting D who lack foot speed/mobility and I think the early play of Rask (and lately too) have masked alot of the problem which is, too often, this D gets caught flat footed by teams who have speed

 

[HHHH]

I think Carlo exceeded all expectations anyone could have had for a rookie 20 year old defenseman, and Chara's health showed that he can be very effective even on a top pair; last year he seemed to be struggling all year, so it is good to see him bounce back. C. Miller took a step forward in his development and K. Miller and Quaider are what they are, and both had solid seasons.

This D group has been solid, not without its warts,but I am definitely looking forward to seeing what McAvoy can add down the road!

 

[JOKER 192]

I think so. They are better than they get credit for around here that's for sure.

Tied for 9th on team D

2nd on the PK

That's pretty solid regardless of what the talking heads think.

 

[TaroTsujimoto]

Chara and Krug are top end defensemen who really anchor their respective pairings: Chara with his solidity, Krug with his elite puck moving. I think it's a credit to them that Carlo and McQuaid are not exposed more badly.

 

[BMC]

While I`m continually surprised by how they have fared, I still see a D that, against opponents who possess speed and skill, they get exposed

Yes and I'm afraid that will only get worse once the playoffs start.

 

[ODAAT]

Yes and I'm afraid that will only get worse once the playoffs start.

let`s hope they don`t.

Wonder how fans here would assess this D if they were the back end we were facing in an opponent?

Can`t take away what they have managed to do but I still have this cause for real worry when thinking about playing a team with excellent speed/skill.

The teams our D really struggled against pretty much all had that combination which gave our D fits

 

[Dr Hook]

While I`m continually surprised by how they have fared, I still see a D that, against opponents who possess speed and skill, they get exposed

same.

I still have great concerns on their inability to get out of their own zone against fast and hard forechecking teams.

As soon as their little chip shots don't work they start running around. Get out of position and turn it into a Keystone Cops adventure.

I'm right with you both. It's not a terrible defense corps by any means, but it is no better than mediocre and gets exposed by quick, aggressive teams. They work hard and individually they all bring some specific skills that are useful but it is still surprising that they achieve what they do.

I think it helps that we have some strong defensive forwards on the team also- Bergy, DoMo, Nash, Backes.

To be positive, we are one or maybe two d-men short of having one of the better defenses in the league. Carlo should continue to improve, Chara has probably bottomed out in terms of decline and he's still pretty good, Krug is a top 4 no question, so if McAvoy or one of the other young d-men (or a FA signing like Shattenkirk) plays like a Top 4 things look good. We could do worse than have one of Miller/McQuaid paired with C.Miller/Gryzz et al, as our 5/6.

 

[lopey]

I think so. They are better than they get credit for around here that's for sure.

Tied for 9th on team D

2nd on the PK

That's pretty solid regardless of what the talking heads think.

I agree. They may not be flashy or quick of foot, but they get the job done most of the time. As a unit they are effective.

 

[Ivo]

Chara has bounced back this season, which makes the defense look better, since he can cover so many of the tough minutes (23 minutes per game with little to no powerplay time). Krug imo is having his best season so far.

 

[EON]

I think Boston still lacks one, maybe two top 4 dmen. But they don't have any plugs in their lineup. McQuaid, Killer, Carlo are all at least solid third pairing dmen. They seem to work well as a unit and the forwards are all solid defensively, not to mention how ridiculously good Bergeron is. Rask/Khudobin have been on their game lately which helps as well. Their PK has also been terrific which certainly contributes to keeping the GA down.

 

[missingchicklet]

The Bs defensemen still are not a great unit. They are not bottom of the barrel, but they lack a top four d-man in order to be something that is great. If a top 4 is added then the others can be utilized in places where they can be more effective. The team defensive stats are in part due to a good system, an elite goalie, and most importantly forwards who generally play very good defense. Defense is not just about the two d-men on the ice, it is a team effort, and is somewhat dependent on the system being used. The Bs would be a Cup contender with a better top 4, there is no doubt.

 

[Fair Warning]

Depends on how you frame it. I went into this season thinking their defense was bottom five. They ended up being fairly average, even going as far as overachieving at some points.

So yes, the defense is certainly better than what I had originally thought. Still holes, though.

 

[wintersej]

The Bruins 5 on 5 GAA last season was 2.29. This season it is 2.28.

At 5 on 5 they are scoring less than last season.

What is driving the Bruins success is special teams. They are actually in the middle of the pack in PP chances where in other years they have been near the bottom. And their PK has given up 38 goals compared to 48 last year.

 

[Salem13]

Said it many times, Chara returned two seasons ago with 1.5 knees.

He had to build up and replace destroyed muscle with other muscle not meant to. This takes lazy turds like me over a decade to feel OK about.

To skate in the NHL as Chara, a few years seems reasonable.

 

[Hamilton Brian]

I think we'll really see in the upcoming playoffs. Chances are, we are going to face that team with fast forwards making quick passes into the zone. However, with the trending this team has been on, I think the defense will work as the coaching convinces them to. Does that make sense?

 

[Boston BROin]

I want to take this moment to eat crow on my initial thoughts of Kevan Miller. The guy has looked good this year. The thing I'm most surprised about is his speed. The guy can skate and wins foot races that I never thought he'd win.

 

[Tampbear]

It is absolutely better than it was given credit for. I think we could even go deep in the playoffs with it if we had solid depth up front which we don't have. We have the opposite problem with D we have on offense, we have solid depth but there are question marks about top end talent.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

At lot of the concern was based on how the D fared in 2015-16. But if you look at each returnee independently.

Chara - Dropped weight, improved mobility and footspeed - Improved

Krug - Healthy since surgery recovery - Improved

McQuaid - Better mobility and puck movement, healthy - Improved

Kevan - Better mobility and puck movement - Improved

Colin - Improved in his own end, more steady and confident, work in progress - Improved

Liles - Was solid until his concussion, hasn't been in the line-up much since his return - Even

So of the 6 returning D, it's fair to say we've seen improved performance from 5 out of 6, and Liles has effectively been replaced with Carlo, which is also an improvement or upgrade over what we seen in 2015-16.

So when you essentially improve your entire D-corps internally, it makes a massive difference.

Given how they're performing this year, it seems like the entire D corps took the "trust" given to them by the FO this summer very seriously and really amped it up. I've been thoroughly impressed, especially after correctly predicting before last season that the D would be absolutely abysmal.

 

[Greek_physique]

I personally think it's very underrated...McQuaid this year has been a top 4 dman!

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

I personally think it's very underrated...McQuaid this year has been a top 4 dman!

Upgrade McQuaid and I think we don't have many questions about the defense. Slide McQuaid on the bottom pair where he belongs, upgrade to proper top 4, and our defense probably seems a lot better.

He's averaged 18 minutes a night. He's still not someone I'd rely on as a permanent top 4. That's not a slight on McQuaid, he is what he is.

Improve McQuaid, and we actually have a top 4.

Bruins defensemen average time on ice this season:
Chara: 23:16
Krug 21:50
Carlo: 20:56
McQuaid: 18:08
K. Miller: 17:34
Liles: 16:00
C. Miller: 15:44
Morrow: 15:32

Bolded play top 4 minutes. McQuaid held his post, but he's still above his head to be a real top 4 anchor.

If we had this, this season, I don't think we would have had as many complaints:
Chara - Carlo
Krug - XXX (improvement of McQuaid)
1 of the Millers/Liles - McQuaid

Moving forward, Chara's going to continue to decline, Carlo and McAvoy should be in the mix as early as next year. And we hopefully have some young guns exceeding expectations?