Where the Bruins fall on latest NHL power rankings

PHILADELPHIA: Whether they win or lose at Philadelphia on Saturday, the Bruins will be comfortably atop the Eastern Conference with one game remaining before the All-Star break.

How do they compare to the NHL’s top clubs and Stanley Cup contenders? The Bruins were close to the top of four national (North American?) media outlets’ power rankings. The various outlets typically provide a distinct side angle for every team in order to prevent power rating lists from getting monotonous.

Here’s where the Bruins landed on the lists and what the different sites said about them:

The Athletic

Rank: 3

The Athletic lists the Bruins third, after Winnipeg and Vancouver, with a strong bias toward Western Conference teams at the top of the ranking. In addition, their rankings indicated which player on each squad would “best represent their franchise in an All-32 Skills Olympics,” An imaginary drama based on the skills competition. They wrote as follows:

“Just three players other than (David) Pastrnak have 10.0 in multiple categories, and none of them stacked perfect scores in one-timers and shooting accuracy. He’ll have a chance to stack enough points in those two categories to advance. Easily.”

ESPN Ranking: 2.

According to ESPN, the Bruins rose from third to second place. ESPN selected one roster error made by each club entering the season for every team on this list. The Bruins decided against giving Swayman a long-term contract.

“Perhaps this would be considered a “good problem to have.” Boston has red-hot netminder (and pending RFA) Jeremy Swayman up for another contract negotiation this summer — and the way he’s playing, Swayman’s going to demand even more than he did a year ago. The Bruins might regret not getting something longer-term done with Swayman when they had the chance, prior to his leveling up again in 2023-24.”

NHL.com

Rank: 1

The only website that lists Boston ahead of Vancouver is NHL.com, where the Bruins are ranked first. Seven of their thirteen writers ranked them as the top choice.

Players who aren’t All-Stars but could have been on the top 16 teams were included in this week’s power rankings. Charlie Coyle was selected by the website, however the Bruins have a few other possibilities. Amalie Benjamin penned:

“I’m sticking with Charlie Coyle. With the Bruins already sending David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman (and coach Jim Montgomery) to the All-Star Game, I think Coyle is equally deserving. The center has helped negate the losses of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci and is on pace for a new NHL career-high 68 points. I’d give him the nod as much for what he’s done for the Bruins, solidifying his position as their No. 1 center, as his offensive production.”

SportsNet Canada

Position: 2.

The Bruins are ranked second on the Canadian all-sports network. For every squad, their corresponding list was a welcome surprise. David Pastrnak was selected for Boston, and they wrote:

“We knew David Pastrnak was a stud, but the fact he could surpass last year’s 113 points without the two centres — Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci — he’s been riding shotgun with for his entire career is remarkable.”

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