Boston Bruins Nightmare Before Christmas Schedule

By: Michael Rudd | Follow me on Twitter @Bosmike808.

The Boston Bruins are off to the best start in franchise history. The team looks like a legitimate contender with a record of 16-2-0 through their first 18 games. The question of whether it is still too early has been thrown around on social media lately, and honestly, it still might be. The Bruins have played exactly half of their games before the calendar flips to 2023. So what better time to look at their strength of schedule and see if that contributed to the hot start? As the title suggests, the Bruins’ schedule also sees a significant uptick in difficulty over the next 18 games.

The First 18

As we already know, the Bruins are 16-2-0 in their first 18 games this season. In those first 18 games, the Bruins didn’t play any team more than once. Of those 18 teams, five at the time writing this are in the playoffs. Of those five playoff teams, only two are in their division’s top three, and one, the Dallas Stars, leads their division. That means 13 of the Bruins’ first 18 games were against non-playoff teams. The points percentage of those 18 teams is a combined .489, meaning those teams have earned less than half of their available points. With a winning percentage of just .428, it’s pretty clear the Bruins were the better team on the ice most nights. For reference, the Bruins have points and a winning percentage of .889.

The Nightmare 18

In their next 18 games, the Bruins will play Tampa, Florida, New Jersey, Vegas, and Colorado, twice each. Of the next 18 games, 12 are against teams currently in the playoffs and the top three of their respective divisions. Eight of the Bruins’ next ten games are against playoff teams, and one of the two other games is against Florida. As previously mentioned, the Bruins will also play four games against other division leaders, playing Vegas and New Jersey twice. The Bruins’ opponents over the rest of 2022 have a combined points percentage of .575. If we look at the winning percentage of the group, it comes in at .545. The Bruins’ upcoming 18 games will have almost as many nights vs. a playoff team as the first 18 had vs. non-playoff teams.

Conclusions

With such a drastic difference between the numbers of the two groups, you can see how the Bruins have had a more manageable schedule so far. Over an 82-game season, the first group’s numbers work out to a team going 35-37-10 with 80 points. The second group averages out to a record of 44-32-6 with 94 points. I can tell you right now which team I would rather play. The Bruins have done an excellent job beating the team in front of them. With the league as evenly matched as it’s ever been, banking points early is crucial to making the playoffs by the end of the season. Last season the playoff line in the East was 100 points. After their hot start, the Bruins need just 68 points over the next 64 games to hit that mark. These next 18 games will show if the Bruins are, in fact, the team we think they could be. Until next time stay safe out there, and let’s go, Bruins.