Who saw this coming?
Expectations were tempered for the Boston Bruins in October and November as they began the 2022-23 season without star winger Brad Marchand and defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk.
All three players are already back on the ice, however, and the Bruins have surged to the best start in the 98-year history of their franchise.
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Six things we've learned about the Bruins one month into the season
With Sunday's 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, Boston is 14-2-0 overall and a perfect 9-0-0 at home -- surpassing the 1983-84 squad for the team's best season-opening home win streak since the Original Six franchise was founded in 1924.
The B's have outscored their opponents by a whopping 19 goals (35 scored, 16 allowed) over those nine contests while beating several quality opponents, including the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers.
"I think it says a lot, right?" said forward Tomas Nosek, who broke a 65-game scoring drought with his empty-net goal to seal Boston's win. "It's a 9-0 start here at TD Garden, which is the best in history, and for a [historic] team like this, Original Six, I think it says a lot. I'm proud to be part of this group."
Boston Bruins
The Bruins have benefited from incredible scoring depth, as Nosek became the 20th different Bruin to score at least one goal this season. Ten B's players have scored three goals or more, including bottom-six forwards Nick Foligno, Trent Frederic and A.J. Greer (three apiece) and defenseman Hampus Lindholm (four), who also ranks second on the team with 13 assists.
Boston is also getting stellar play from goaltender Linus Ullmark, who leads the NHL in wins (11) and ranks fourth in save percentage (.936) and goals against average (1.96).
The B's may come back to earth eventually, and they face a challenging schedule over the next month with two games each against the Tampa Lightning, defending champion Colorado Avalanche and Western Conference-leading Vegas Golden Knights.
But they've given themselves quite the cushion amid their record-setting start.