Arizona Coyotes 2015 Opponents: Boston Bruins

The Arizona Coyotes are looking for a special season

We are looking at their outlook for this 2015-16 season:

We look at Eastern Conference foe Boston:

2014-15 record: 41-27-14, 5th in the Atlantic, Didn’t make the playoffs

How the Arizona Coyotes did last season against Boston: 2 games, 0-2-0

Schedule this year against the Arizona Coyotes: Sat 10/17 Home, Tues 10/27 at Boston

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Notable additions:

RW Jimmy Hayes, LW Matt Beleskey, D Matt Irwin

Notable subtractions:

C Carl Soderberg, D Dougie Hamilton, LW Milan Lucic, RW Reilly Smith, C Gregory Campbell, LW Daniel Paille

Coached by: Claude Julien (9th year)

Who’s in Net:

Tuukka Rask is one of the premiere goalies in the league, even though he had a slightly off-year last season. He is the kind of goalie that can carry a team. 21-year-old Malcolm Subban has lots of upside, and he will be the backup unless they sign a veteran, which be difficult, since they are right against the cap.

Quick thoughts about the Bruins:

New GM Don Sweeney traded Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic for a total of six high draft picks. Of course they traded Phil Kessel back in ’09 for two first rounders which turned into Hamilton and Tyler Seguin, and neither are still with the team.
The three first round picks the Bruins had, numbers 13, 14 and 15 all showed up to training camp and failed their conditioning test. That is kind of embarrassing.
This team seems to be caught somewhere between a total rebuild and trying to make a run toward the playoffs this season. They have a lot of questions, and not much cap space to work with. They tried to sign Cody Franson to replace Hamilton, (we can relate) but couldn’t get it done, (ditto) so Buffalo said thanks (not really) and went ahead and signed him.

Why the Bruins will win the Stanley Cup:

They still have a ton of talent in Rask, and aging Zdeno Chara and forwards David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron. They had one of those years last year that is impossible to explain. They really should have made the playoffs. They should be close again this season, but there are no guarantees in the NHL.

Why the Bruins won’t win the Stanley Cup:

They brought in Matt Beleskey and others to replace the good quality players they traded, but they are counting too much on the progression of young players like David Pastrnak. We don’t see enough talent in Beantown to make a hill of beans, and they will not make the playoffs again.

Three Things We Like About You:

The classic black and gold and the “B” logo are pretty sweet. Don’t mess with them.
Patrice Bergeron is hands down one of the best two-way forwards in the game, he has our respect.
Lobsters… And the fact that about a quarter of the Miracle on Ice team came from Massachusetts.

Three Things We Don’t Like About You:

That thing called “Thug Hockey” that you guys call playing tough. For real?
Zdeno Chara is big (as in John Scott BIG), but for your information he’s not in the same water cooler conversation as Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
That Holier-Than-Thou attitude that thinks that hockey can only be played in cities as cold as “Bahstin”. There is a pretty good possibility that we will rebuild and have a better shot at a Cup than you. Well, at least I hope so.

Prediction:

The Bruins were close last year, just two points out of the playoffs. They certainly aren’t any better this season, and the division has been getting better around them. We think they will be sellers at the trade deadline to help out the salary cap, and get a couple more prospects. No playoffs this year. No bean soup will be poured in Stanley’s Cup.

Next: Arizona Coyotes Rookie Camp Updates And Insights

More From Howlin’ Hockey -> Arizona Coyotes Announce 2015-2016 Promotional Schedule

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