#1 That 40 year old is playing like a 30 year old. Like he did when they won the cup in 2011. He is, by far, the best "in shape" player in the league, he can handle the minutes. He has slowed, but he has also adjusted his game because of that. He is a very smart hockey player. It's only 1 player, McAvoy's minutes are right up there too and he's barely 20!! So on average you have an age of 30 and 2 great hockey players haha!! What I'm saying is you're wrong, Chara is not affected by age, just speed and he has adjusted, watch a game, he's the best Bruin D on the ice!! Chara is not retiring yet, he can still play and wants to play. He will sign 1 year hometown discount contracts until he feels like he's harming the team growth and evolution....

#2 Hmmmmm, nobody likes Tuukka. Check his stats for his last 15 starts. Rask is a Vezina goalie, he just needs to get his head in the game. Once he does, he's one of the best in the league with a great D team in front of him. Look at Dobby's numbers too. Doesn't really matter who the Bruins put in net, but a great goalie like Rask allows them to go 11-0-4 in the last 15 games!!!!!!!

#3 McAvoys will be a big contract - but so was Chara's and now its basically gone. The others not so much, every team changes a little bit every year and make the cap work. Nobody says you HAVE to stay with the players you currently have. Spooner's value is increasing and will likely get traded, we have so many guys waiting in the wings....Bjork, JFK, Gabrielle, Zboril, Senyshyn...... that's a weak argument there my friend. In 2011 cup winning year, Bergy, Marchy, McQuaid, Rask Chara, Krejci were all there.....different guys filled the other roles!!!!

If you watched you would see domination, I didn't say it happens every night, but tonight, they dominated another NHL team, potentially a playoff team. Hello???? They are 11-0-4 in the last 15!!!! What does that tell you?????

It tells me they're having a great regular season, and will probably make the playoffs, but they could struggle IN the playoffs as they're a younger team.

Boston has an average age of 26.9. League Average is 27.1 as of January 12, 2018

I'm just saying a lot of their guys are younger. Guys like McAvoy, Heinen, etc.

McAvoy played in the playoffs last year. Even still this isn't a team full of inexperienced guys when it comes to the playoffs. The core that's here has been to the playoffs and for many have been to the Cup finals twice.

Boston could be very interesting this year.

Boston could be very interesting this year.

They could be, but as a Boston fan I'm still concerned (from the east) with TBL, PIT and WSH. Throw in maybe NYR if they make it. The Rangers always seem to play well against Boston. Going back to pre-season I said (here on these forums) that Boston could surprise some people. I'll be honest though, I didn't think they'd be playing this well. Not sure if its sustainable and obviously a key injury could throw things out the window, but as a Bruins fan it'll be an interesting rest of the season.

No, Boston could/are very good this year. The Leafs are "very interesting", which if you're Leaf fan, can be translated to "very disappointing."

They could be, but as a Boston fan I'm still concerned (from the east) with TBL, PIT and WSH. Throw in maybe NYR if they make it. The Rangers always seem to play well against Boston. Going back to pre-season I said (here on these forums) that Boston could surprise some people. I'll be honest though, I didn't think they'd be playing this well. Not sure if its sustainable and obviously a key injury could throw things out the window, but as a Bruins fan it'll be an interesting rest of the season.

Don't be concerned about Washington. We had a hot stretch that got us to the top of our division. Not a legit contender this year. Defense is too thin. Either Djoos or Orpik getting top four minutes against teams like Pittsburgh and Columbus (or Tampa if we somehow get there) is not ideal, and trading for a top-four defenseman is tough right now.

We've lost 12 straight and 3x already this year to Washington lol. Since 2012, Washington is 18-4-0 vs Boston in the regular season. I'm always worried about Washington because they just seem to play so well against Boston and to top it off, Holtby just plays out of his mind vs Boston.

Holtby Career vs BOS
16 GP / 14-2-0 / 1.96 GAA / .940 SV% / 3 SO

Honestly of all the teams in the East, Washington is the last team I want to face. I'm terrified every time we have to play Washington because they are so far in the B's head that its sad lol. In fairness to Boston though, the games have been a lot closer than in years past lol

Don't be concerned about Washington. We had a hot stretch that got us to the top of our division. Not a legit contender this year. Defense is too thin. Either Djoos or Orpik getting top four minutes against teams like Pittsburgh and Columbus (or Tampa if we somehow get there) is not ideal, and trading for a top-four defenseman is tough right now.

Lower expectations this year ... they're my pick for the cup at the moment.

The whole "lower expectations" thing has worked for us in the past. When we were expected to lose Game 6 this past year, we crushed them. Then, when we were expected to win Game 7, we crumbled. But while the expectations may be low for the first two rounds, if we get to the third round, all the pressure is on again, and we'd lose.

IMO the first round it should be no surprise that they make it past, then in the 2nd round, this is the year where there's lower expectations, and it puts less pressure on them to win. Then that makes it easier for them, and then if they're in the 3rd round then who knows what can happen? There's pressure on every team in the 3rd round too.

We can play the "you never know" card all we want. But please use some logic behind your reasoning, not saying that anything can happen.

I did.

Lower expectations ... look at the Oilers and Senators this year and last year, and the Sharks in 2016 and years before.

Ottawa and San Jose had an easy road to the conference finals and SCF. Making it to the 2nd round does not exceed expectations.

I woudn't call it losing the respect of players since some elected to stay with the team. In the locker room they are saying that they want to win with what they have.

Negative culture is also a hard term to throw around. Just recently, the team was able to lure in a leader and a respectable free agent, JJ Redick. With the emergence of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, and eventually Markelle Fultz, the team will be able to lure in top free agents.

Sam Hinkie is wildly respected by many Philadelphia fans, as he has produced what they see before them today.

I'm not saying the Bruins are bad, because they aren't. They are a very good team. I'm just saying that 1 game is not a viable reason a team is good.