After starting last season in exceptional fashion, the way that the Boston Bruins have begun their 2023-24 centennial campaign shouldn’t come as a surprise for fans in the New England region.

Through nine games, Boston is 8-0-1 with 17 points—the best record in the Eastern Conference—behind only the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights for the best overall record in the NHL.

Similar to last season, the Bruins have appeared to look dominant on their home ice. The TD Garden has been an extremely difficult place for opponents to play, as the Bruins’ home crowd has proven to be one of the best and most intimidating in the league.

David Pastrnak is off to a blazing start—likely the best of his career. Pastrnak has 8 goals to go along with 6 assists, and he seems more than capable of being the best player on the ice for a Bruins team this season that already has Brad Marchand being the newest member of a special, long-lasting class of Bruins team captains.

Similar to Pastrnak, Marchand has been instrumental to the Bruins’ success, scoring 5 goals and appearing in all nine games. However, Marchand will need to be just as productive on the offensive side as much as Charlie McAvoy is on the defensive end, as McAvoy was suspended for 4 games as a result of his hit on Florida’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson in Monday’s contest, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Tuesday.

The outstanding goaltending tandem of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark might just be the strongest leg of this Bruins team. The statistics can certainly back that narrative up, as Swayman and Ullmark have a .957 (112 saves) and .939 (139 saves) save percentage, respectively (nhl.com/bruins/stats).

While the goalie situation on the team seems to be its best, they will need to stay consistent throughout the regular season. Especially if an injury comes up with one of their top players, Boston will need both Swayman and Ullmark to shoulder the load some nights, as the Bruins weren’t exactly highly touted for their offensive display throughout the roster before the season starting.

What does this amazing start really signify for the Bruins?

A select few Bruins fans might go as far as to say that this is a make-or-break season for head coach Jim Montgomery. After last season’s historic year—where Boston finished with the best regular season record in NHL history—the Bruins were eliminated in the first round after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Florida Panthers.

While it was a devastating loss for the team—especially since they had Stanley Cup aspirations—it was an even bigger letdown for the fans, an uber-passionate fan base that was hoping that they could celebrate yet another championship in the city of Boston, and the first for the Bruins in over a decade.

Bruins fans will definitely keep a close eye on both Montgomery and the team as they continue to navigate their way through a long, 82-game season. The recent past clearly shows that the Bruins are more than fond of letting go of the rope at—quite literally—the worst times. The team also needs to remember that their probable, high level of regular season success must carry over into the early stages of the playoffs. In doing so, there will be a much different type of postseason experience for the Bruins.