MVN: Most Valuable Network

With a short week on tap for the Boston and Providence Bruins, it's time to take a step back and look at where the teams stand through the first two months of the 2008-09 season. We'll start by reviewing Boston today, followed by Providence tomorrow, and without going into too much detail early, both are in a position they enjoy.

The first two months have been everything the Boston Bruins could have hoped for, plus more. Once again, experts such as "The Hockey News" predicted that Boston would miss the playoffs. There is still quite a ways to go, but so far, that thought could not be further from the truth. Instead, the Bruins are in a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference with the New York Rangers, accumulating points in 20 of 24 contests.

Boston's overall record stands at 16-4-4, putting them six points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens. Speaking of the Canadiens, the Bruins have picked up five out of a possible six points from their rivals, going 2-1-1. To add to that, after going 5-3-3 in a tricky month of October, the Black and Gold exploded in November. Boston compiled an incredible 11-1-1 record in the season's second month, including a perfect 8-0 mark at the TD Banknorth Garden.

One of the more famous lines in hockey is that defense and goaltending wins championships. So far, the Bruins have had some of the best goaltending in the National Hockey League. Tim Thomas has been spectacular yet again, but before going into detail on him, how about the play of Manny Fernandez?! A lot of fans were willing to do anything to trade Fernandez prior to the season. Most of those thoughts have probably changed, as Manny has picked up a win in seven of his nine starts, while posting a 2.32 goals against average.

For the second year in a row, Tim Thomas was left off of the all-star ballot, and for the second year in a row, the Boston netminder is proving the critics wrong. Thomas has played in 15 games, going 9-3-3, with a 1.88 goals against average, a .940 save percentage, and two shutouts. That's not worthy of being an all-star? The team in front of Thomas and Fernandez has done a solid job, but there have been at least a handful of games where their play has been a difference maker.

Defensively, the Bruins have been without Andrew Ference for the last eight games, and as great as he was, it almost appears as though the team is barely phased. A large reason for that success has been the emergence of rookie Matt Hunwick. After scoring two goals and 22 assists in 68 games with Boston and Providence a year ago, Hunwick has burst onto the scene with three goals and five assists in 12 games at the NHL level. His plus-10 rating has also been a tremendous welcome.

While Hunwick is drawing attention as a new face in the crowd, it would be unjust not to give proper credit to Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman. After a bit of a slow start, Chara has recorded four goals and seven assists, while Wideman continues to improve with six goals and seven assists. Five of those ten tallies have come on the man advantage - another area that has seen quite an improvement from last season.

Unfortunately, the blueline will be without the services of Aaron Ward for the next week or so, as he has suffered a leg injury. Matt Lashoff and Johnny Boychuk were recalled from Providence on Monday, and will instantly get put to the test at the NHL level.

The forwards suffered their own injury bugs with Marco Sturm and Chuck Kobasew out of the lineup, but just like the defense, other players filled in admirably. Keeping with the theme of breakout players, Blake Wheeler could be one of the best free agent signings in the NHL. The rookie is already tied for second on the Bruins with eight goals, and has clicked like a machine since being placed on a line with David Krejci. Speaking of Krejci, he is Boston's third leading scorer, with seven goals and 12 assists. The 12 assists are second behind Marc Savard.

The top two scorers on the roster are Marc Savard and Phil Kessel. Savard is an assists machine, with 22 of his 30 points coming via the helper. Kessel prefers putting the biscuit in the basket, and has done so for 13 of his 20 points. There is currently a three-way tie for fourth place in scoring, as Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic, and Michael Ryder have each registered 15 points. Chuck Kobasew should be joining that group shortly. Kobasew missed quite a bit of time at the beginning of the year due to an injury, but has stormed back with 13 points in 12 games.

Looking ahead to December, if the Bruins hope to stay in the driver's seat, they will have to do so by continuing to perform well on the road. Only four of Boston's 13 games in December take place at the TD Banknorth Garden. Another difference from November is that only one of the games (December 18th vs. Toronto) is against a Northeast Division foe. The popular division for this month will be the Southeast. Nine of the 13 contests are against that group of opponents, with the Atlanta Thrashers appearing on the schedule three times. Oddly enough, that will already finish the four-game season series.

For those wondering about the Providence Bruins, here's a hint: they share the same spot in the standings as their parent club. To find out more, you'll have to wait until tomorrow!