As midterm exams go, the Bruins had an easy one.
Game 28 in their 56-game schedule was their first matchup with the tire fire that is the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. Needless to say, the Bruins passed.
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Ep 60: Vegas Takes Game 1; Panthers Set For Game 2; Cole Caufield
by Full Press Coverage on June 5, 2023 at 11:43 pm
Jim and Chris look at the Golden Knights Game 1 win and look ahead to Game […]
Here’s a look at how each Bruins player has graded out through the first half of the truncated season: (as always players are graded vs. their expectations and role, not just production)
Forwards

Neither age (35) nor the weight of the captain’s C seems to have slowed this future Hall of Famer down.
Anders Bjork: F
He was supposed to work his way up from the fourth line to the top six, not play his way out of the lineup. Might be time for the Notre Dame project to get a change of scenery.
Charlie Coyle: C
If he’s the heir apparent to Krejci as the No. 2 center, he better get more aggressive offensively. Even if he refuses to shoot more, we’ve missed those shifts where he seemingly protects the puck down low for minutes on end.
Jake DeBrusk: D
Is he the J.D. Martinez of the Bruins, unable to adapt to playing COVID times? If he’s going to turn things around he’s got to get to the dirty areas and make himself more of a menace.
Trent Frederic: A-minus
Sometimes his antics are a little goofy and you hope he doesn’t cost the Bruins with a bad penalty down the line. But otherwise he’s done the pest act and provided some offense — can’t ask for much more.
David Krejci: B-minus
His time on the first power play went well while it lasted — in terms of him distributing the puck. Still, a team desperate for secondary scoring needs more than one goal from its second-line center.
Sean Kuraly: F
Does he have the contract year blues? Or is there something bothering him? Whatever has happened, he’s even played his way into Cassidy’s bad side, somewhere we never expected to see the long-time coach favorite.
With 34 points in 28 games, it’s time for PHWA members to steer their Bruins-related Hart Trophy attention toward No. 63.
David Pastrnak: A-minus
If you shot like Pastrnak, would you be as addicted as he is to the drop pass? But he’s still scoring at an amazing pace.
Nick Ritchie: A
No one expected anything from the power forward, and for most of the first half he’s been all of Boston’s secondary scoring while screening goalies and skating pretty well on Cassidy’s ever-shuffling lines.
Craig Smith: C-plus
He shoots a lot, that’s great. But there’s not much else he does, so it’s up to him to do the work necessary to improve on his 7.7 shooting percentage and make those shots count more.
Jack Studnicka: B
The vision and hands are there, just lacks finish so far.
Chris Wagner: F
Unlike Kuraly, he has contract security. Similar to Kuraly, he seems to have lost the game that helped make Boston’s fourth line Cassidy’s second-most trusted group.
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Defensemen
Brandon Carlo: B-minus
The offense is never coming, so stop waiting for it. But it would be more helpful if he was able to drive a pair with a younger guy better than having to be paired with a vet like Grzelcyk. Maybe he’s been most affected by Chara’s departure.
Connor Clifton: B
Fans love Cliffy Hockey, but one has to wonder how long the Bruins can survive his high-risk game in their top four while they’re plagued by injuries.
Jeremy Lauzon: B
Was probably hitting his stride when he got injured. Still needs mileage to become a consistent NHL defender and puck mover.
Charlie McAvoy: A-minus
The Norris Trophy talk might have calmed the past couple weeks, but he’s clearly taken major steps toward filling Chara’s weighty shoes.
Kevan Miller: B
Got off to a relatively respectable start, but it’s apparent the Bruins can’t count on having him for the stretch run and that might add to general manager Don Sweeney’s shopping list.
Matt Grzelcyk: B
Steady when healthy, he is certainly not Torey Krug (not that the Bruins thought that) but a solid puck-mover that needs to keep up his recent aggression with his shot.
Urho Vaakanainen: C
Still a work-in-progress, he showed some of the lackadaisical tendencies that failed to endear him to Cassidy when he first came to North America.
Jakub Zboril: B
He’s come as advertised — lots of skill and confidence, not much awareness or hockey sense. Seemingly makes a boneheaded play for every sweet one, which the Bruins hope he’ll play his way out of as he gains experience.
Goalies
Jaroslav Halak: A
There’s always going to be a portion of the population that wants him to play more than Rask, and as long as Halak’s making his case the Bruins will be in business.
Tuukka Rask: A-minus
Numbers are still strong despite the youthful defense corps and the lack of offense both he and Halak have had to endure.
Daniel Vladar: Woah
Usually, this would be an incomplete, but did you see that stick save on Colton Sceviour on Tuesday? Holy moly.
Incomplete: Par Lindholm, Jarred Tinordi, Steven Kampfer, Anton Blidh, Karson Kulman, Ondrej Kase, Greg McKegg, Jack Ahcan, Oskar Steen, Zach Senyshyn, John Moore
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Ep 60: Vegas Takes Game 1; Panthers Set For Game 2; Cole Caufield
by Full Press Coverage on June 5, 2023 at 11:43 pm
Jim and Chris look at the Golden Knights Game 1 win and look ahead to Game […]
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Ep 59: Stanley Cup Final Preview; Game 1 Thoughts
by Full Press Coverage on June 4, 2023 at 1:43 am
Jim and Chris give their thoughts on the Stanley Cup Final between Vegas […]
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2023 Stanley Cup Final and Los Angeles Kings Talk with Dennis Bernstein
by Full Press Coverage on June 8, 2023 at 3:59 pm
Jim Biringer speaks with Dennis Bernstein of the FourthPeriod.com, Host of […]
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2023 Stanley Cup Final Talk - Vegas Golden Knights with Willie G. Ramirez
by Full Press Coverage on June 5, 2023 at 12:39 am
Jim Biringer speaks with Willie G. Ramirez of ESPN Las Vegas, The Sporting […]
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Ep 83: Stanley Cup Playoffs Are Here; Can Bruins Keep Up Pace?
by Full Press Coverage on April 17, 2023 at 4:06 pm
Ian and Chris are back to give their thoughts on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, […]
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Ep 82: Bruins Set Wins Record, Pasta Hits 60, Playoffs Around The Corner
by Full Press Coverage on April 10, 2023 at 2:27 pm
Ian and Chris react to the Bruins 63rd win of the season, David Pastrnak's […]
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The Hockey World Revolves Around Toronto
by Jim Biringer on May 23, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Jim is back for a fourth season of the Final Word on Hockey as he is […]
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S4Ep28 - Stanley Cup Playoffs - Conference Final Preview
by Jim Biringer on May 16, 2023 at 7:28 pm
Jim is back for the fourth season of the Final Word on Hockey previewing […]
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Golden Knights at Panthers
by Broken Controller Media on June 8, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
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Panthers at Golden Knights
by Broken Controller Media on June 5, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
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Panthers at Golden Knights
by Broken Controller Media on June 3, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
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Golden Knights at Stars
by Broken Controller Media on May 29, 2023 at 4:20 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
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Episode #141: Tend The Goal
by Full Press Coverage on May 25, 2023 at 2:24 pm
The 2023 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs have reached its final four teams, and […]
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Episode #140: Stone Cold's 4th Line
by Full Press Coverage on May 23, 2023 at 1:41 pm
And then, there were four. The 2023 AHL Division Finals have concluded, […]
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Full Press Blackhawks - Thursday, June 8th
by Full Press Coverage on June 8, 2023 at 4:00 pm
After Connor Bedard going #1, who are some prospects to look at for the […]
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Full Press Kraken - Thursday, June 8th
by Full Press Coverage on June 8, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Areas of improvement, prospect look and AHL playoffs. Learn more about […]
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Full Press Islanders - Wednesday, June 7th
by Full Press Coverage on June 7, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Lou Lamoriello holds a press conference yesterday we talk about what was […]
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Renegades Of Puck Ep 770
by Charlie Saunier on June 6, 2023 at 7:13 pm
Ep 770 The Renegades Of Puck Recap Game 6 & Preview Calder Cup Final […]
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Full Press Hurricanes - Tuesday, June 6th
by Full Press Coverage on June 6, 2023 at 5:20 pm
A brief look at game one of the Stanley Cup Final and potential draft […]
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Full Press Blackhawks - Tuesday, April 6th
by Full Press Coverage on June 6, 2023 at 2:00 pm
It is the Connor Bedard show at the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Will Connor […]
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6/8 - Nuggets Dominate; PGA/LIV Merge
by Full Press Coverage on June 8, 2023 at 12:38 pm
Ian and John discuss the Nuggets Game 2 win over the Heat and the recent […]
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6/6 - Golden Knights Cruise; NBA Final Heads To Miami
by Full Press Coverage on June 6, 2023 at 2:36 pm
Ian and John discuss the Golden Knights dominating win and look ahead to […]
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6/5 - Heat Take Game 2; Golden Knights; Aaron Rodgers/Jordan Love
by Full Press Coverage on June 5, 2023 at 2:28 pm
Ian and John discuss the Heat's win over the Nuggets, the Golden Knights […]
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6/2 - Nuggets Take Game 1, Barry Bonds, Stanley Cup Chat w/ Jim Biringer
by Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 2:03 pm
Ian and John discuss the Nuggets Game 1 win over the Heat, the upcoming […]