CAN THE BRUINS KEEP IT UP?

The Bruins debuted new third jerseys yesterday in their post-Thanksgiving thrashing of the New York Islanders. Five third period goals propelled Boston to another victory, giving the team 10 wins in it's last 12 games. At 15-4-4, the B's are six points ahead of Montreal for the lead in the Northeast division (34 points to 28), and trail only the New York Rangers, by two points, in the Eastern Conference.

Bruins fans are pleased, to say the least. But this hot start, coupled with the team's struggles in recent seasons, beg the question: can they keep it up?

While there is no doubt Tim Thomas will cool off a little bit at some point, there is no reason why the Bruins can't continue to win, and make a serious run at Lord Stanley's Cup in 2009. This year's club has something that Bruins teams of the recent past have not had: Multiple scoring threats. Last year, Boston went on long scoring droughts, unable to put the puck in the net with any consistency. Thats not the case anymore. Through 23 games this season, the Bruins have scored 79 goals, good for third in the NHL. Marc Savard's 30 points put him in a tie for the second most in the league, and his 22 assists are also the second most in the entire NHL. All this comes with Patrice Bergeron still working his way back from a terrible concussion that cost him almost all of last season, and without Chuck Kobasew and Marco Sturm for long stretches because of injury. The emergence of Phil Kessel has been huge, as has the strong play of rookie forward Blake Wheeler, who has seven goals and four assists and is a plus 10 so far this year.

Defensively, the B's are just as strong, if not stronger. Zdeno Chara, the team's captain, is a force to be reckoned with in his own end, as is Dennis Wideman, who came to Boston in a trade with the St. Louis Blues (for Brad Boyes) two seasons ago. While Andrew Ferrence recovers from a broken leg, rookie Matt Hunwick has stepped in and done a great for Boston. The black and gold have allowed just 50 goals on the season, and only a measly 2.17 goals per game. Minnesota (2.14) is the only club that gives up fewer goals per game than the Bruins.

And of course, there is Milan Lucic, who's emergence this season has been nothing short of amazing. The twenty year old winger does whatever the team needs. He fights--his bout with Mike Komisarek of the Canadiens cost the Montreal defenseman a month with a shoulder injury--and he lights the lamp as well. In last week's 3-2 Bruins win over the Canadiens, Montreal tough guy Georges Laracque shadowed Lucic the entire game, and the Bruins' winger was getting booed and jeered throughout the game (because of his KO of Komisarek). Yet when the B's trailed 1-0 in the second, Lucic was there to tip in a great pass from Phil Kessel to tie the game at one. Oh yeah, and through 23 games he leads the league in hits as well.

All of this, plus the incredible play of goalie Tim Thomas, has put the Bruins in position to get a high seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs this April. Tonight's game against defending Cup Champion Detroit should be a good measuring stick to see how far along the Bruins truly are. A win would be huge for the confidence of this young team. While it's still very early in the season, the Bruins are certainly on the right track to reclaim some of the glory of the Big Bad Bruins.