Charlie McAvoy sums up an eventful 2024 for Bruins
“This has been a year like really none other since I've been here."
WASHINGTON — The Bruins have not officially hit the midway point of the 2024-25 season.
But as the calendar flips to 2025, Dec. 31 usually marks the latest barometer for NHL clubs to assess where they’re at amid an 82-game gauntlet.
Following Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Washington at Capital One Arena, the Bruins hold a record of 20-15-4 — still good enough for third place in the Atlantic Division.
While most teams would be satisfied with such a playoff perch through 39 games, the Bruins have rarely found themselves on steady ground throughout this campaign.
Even with their solid record, the Bruins are saddled with several flaws across their roster — especially when it comes to lighting the lamp.
Boston currently ranks 27th in the NHL in goals scored per game (2.62) and 30th overall on the power play (13.0 percent).
As a result of several lopsided results, the Bruins stand as one of just two NHL teams currently in the playoff picture to boast a negative goal-differential. The Vancouver Canucks are the other culprit with a minus-1 goal differential. Boston? A minus-16.
Add in Jim Montgomery’s firing amid an ugly 8-9-3 start this fall, and this latest NHL campaign has not exactly gone according to plan for a Bruins squad entering the year with higher expectations.
Speaking after Tuesday’s loss to Washington, Charlie McAvoy echoed a similar sentiment about the good and bad drawn out of Boston’s first 39 games.
“A lot of different things,” McAvoy acknowledged. “This has been a year like really none other since I’ve been here. It’s a lot of different emotions,” McAvoy said. “Really how I feel, I think — I don’t know. It almost doesn’t really even matter. We’re in a playoff spot, and that’s really all it is.”
For McAvoy, the most concerning trend for Boston lies in its scoring woes. Boston’s defense has largely righted the ship since Joe Sacco took over as interim head coach.
But the Bruins inability to find consistent traction down the other end of the ice — especially on the man advantage — often has this team operating with a slim margin of error.
Still, McAvoy feels as though this team can still be a tough out if they play to their identity as a physical, defensive-minded squad.
“Obviously, offensive production has been tough to come by this year,” McAvoy said. “Power play has been tough — there’s been some things, but at the end of the day, like defensively, I feel as good as ever. I know that I can keep the puck out of my net, and there’s a lot of things that I can do to impact a hockey game that I’m relied on to do.
“And that’s what I’m taking a lot of pride in, and the rest of it, I’m trying to do the best I can. I think everybody in here is doing that.”
Tuesday’s result marked the latest frustrating result for Boston in what was largely a competitive game on the road against the top team in the Eastern Conference.
While Washington made life difficult on Boston with 28 blocked shots, the Bruins still generated 13 high-danger shots at 5-on-5 play against the Caps.
But only one of those looks — a rebound chance from Justin Brazeau just 1:21 into the game — sailed past Caps goalie Logan Thompson, while Boston also went 0-for-2 on the man advantage.
“It was a tight-checking game, like we knew it would be through the neutral zone and the end zones — both areas of the ice. Not a lot of room out there,” Sacco noted. “You have to fight for your offense. You have to work for your offense. We had some chances in the third to capitalize, to tie it up.
“Thought we had a really good start to the game. We came out ready to play, and we were down to 2-1, which was unfortunate, because I thought we had a good first period. Second period, I think it got away from us. Our game got away from us a little bit, but we made a strong effort in the third. Just weren’t able to capitalize.”
The Bruins still have plenty of work to do it they want to pad their spot in the playoff field. But McAvoy still believes that the Bruins are in an advantageous spot entering the unofficial second half of the 2024-25 campaign.
“It’s been harder, but we’re in a playoff spot,” McAvoy said. “If we win hockey games, we’re doing our job.”
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