The 2012-13 season didn't end the way that Boston Bruins fans or players would have liked.
After winning two of its first three games against the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals, the B's dropped three straight to lose the best-of-seven series in the National Hockey League's showpiece occasion. To make matters worse, Boston led with just two minutes left in the sixth game-only to surrender two late goals to lose 2-1.
"We had more reasons than just ourselves to win a [Stanley] Cup this year," said head coach Claude Julien, who was referring to the team's desire to win the big prize for citizens of the greater Boston area, who had collectively felt the impact of the Boston Marathon bombings.
However, while the ending was heartbreaking, the abbreviated season-which, for many, was about more than hockey-showed many positive signs for the Bruins in the upcoming season.
Center David Krejci had a year to remember. He scored 19 goals (nine of which were in the postseason) and chipped in with 40 assists (17 in the postseason). Left wing Brad Marchand led the team in points during the regular season, scoring 18 goals and providing 18 assists for 36 points.
Center Patrice Bergeron, who had a notable campaign last year with 42 regular season points, will have to step up his game to help negate the loss of former right wing Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars.
Yet, despite the loss of Seguin, the team has plenty more in its offensive arsenal. Right wing Nathan Horton is a more than capable attacker. Furthermore, Bruins fans would be unwise to forget about left wing Milan Lucic, whose play improved dramatically in the postseason. And while right wing Jaromir Jagr, an NHL veteran who joined the Bruins last season, didn't score any goals in the postseason, he did set up 10 goals in that time.
Despite all its offensive prowess, Boston also sports a solid rearguard. Captain Zdeno Chara, who suffered a stretch of below-par play in the Stanley Cup Finals, still proved to be a domineering presence on the rink last season. Defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Dougie Hamilton were quick and ruthless at coming up the ice and scoring, chipping in four and five regular season goals, respectively. Goalkeeper Tuukka Rask's save percentage went from 92.9 percent in the regular season to 94.0 percent in the postseason. Many Bruins fans were quite worried when veteran goalkeeper Tim Thomas decided to take a year off last season, but it has been proven that Rask is a more than capable prot?(c)g?(c).
A longer season may prove more demanding for the Bruins-after all, last year was significantly shorter than a normal season due to the infamous NHL lockout. And while the end of last season was less than ideal, the fact that the team made it to the Finals-along with its solid lineup-puts Boston in the running to get the job done this year.