Who's most responsible for Bruins great defensive record?

Who's most responsible?

  • Bergeron

  • Chara

  • Marchand

  • Thomas/Rask

  • Julien/Cassidy


Results are only viewable after voting.

Dennis Bonvie

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Over the last decade, the Bruins have the three top plus/minus players in the NHL:

Marchand (+224)
Bergeron (+211)
Chara (+205)

Also, they have the top 2 goalies in Save Percentage:

Thomas (.923) and Rask (921)

Who is most responsible for this decade long excellent?
 

danpantz

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Mar 31, 2013
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Voted Chara, but Could have went Bergeron.

When you're two leaders are as dedicated to being strong in there own end it translates to the rest of the roster.
 

Trap Jesus

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Bergeron easily IMO. Chara's ridiculous, particularly in his prime and in his PK role, but he has gaffes that Bergeron never does. Defense is about consistency, and there's no one like Bergeron for that.

The coaching change showed Bergeron can be successful defensively in a more conservative system or a wide open system (the risk/reward ratio for the Marchand/Pasta combo is through the roof under Cassidy, it works as a balance because of Bergeron).

I don't think Marchand is in the conversation, and the fact that his name is up there is just a reflection on Bergeron, I think.

With goalies, we've had some great ones, but there has also been a lot of success with back-ups.
 
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ON3M4N

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Wow thats a tough one. For me its a toss up between Chara and Bergeron. I think I give Bergeron a slight edge as he's the model of what Boston looks for in its forwards and demands from its forwards when they get in the system.
 

BigBadBruins7708

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Dec 11, 2017
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Chara, no doubt. It all starts with him.

The reason guys are able to take chances in the neutral and offensive zones, for 14 years now, is because Chara is sitting behind them to clean up any gaffes. This includes Bergeron who is able to make defensive gambles and in turn more plays because he knows Chara has his back
 

Smitty93

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I've got to go with coaching. They had Chara, Bergeron, and Thomas in 06-07, but finished 29th in goals against. There weren't a bunch of major additions, but firing Lewis and hiring Julien improved their goals against ranking from 29th to 12th. They've finished in the top 5 every year from 2008-09 to current, other than the 2 year stretch from 2014-15 to 2016-17.

Chara, Bergeron, and the goaltending matters, but the system is key.
 

Mathews28

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In order of impact:

1. Coaches/system
2. Goalies
3. The defense the front office consistently assembles (While Chara has been a huge part of this, he doesn't play the full 60 minutes, there are other very key contributors)
4. Bergy
5. All other possible answers.
 
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BruinsFanSince94

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Chara, no doubt. It all starts with him.

The reason guys are able to take chances in the neutral and offensive zones, for 14 years now, is because Chara is sitting behind them to clean up any gaffes. This includes Bergeron who is able to make defensive gambles and in turn more plays because he knows Chara has his back

I feel like when Bergeron is on the ice, Chara is not. Unless it's late in the game.
 

Spooner st

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It's a combination of Julien system with Bergeron play. The support team could be any other team.
 

McGarnagle

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Chara has logged an incredible amount of minutes over the last 13 years. Gun to my head, I'd say he's *most* responsible, but only by a little bit over Bergeron.

I think having a D core led by Chara logging 25+ minutes a night and having Bergeron anchor the forward core allowed Julien to instill his system, and that in turn made the most of Thomas and Rask's talent as well. In the end, all their strengths worked in synergy and it was a total team effort to become great. But I think it all starts with Chara and his signing here in 2006.
 

wintersej

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Great poll. Not Marchand obviously. While Thomas and Rask are excellent goalies, they are not the primary reason either. All the heat maps always show that Bruins goalies get "easy" work.

I was tempted to go coaching. Under both Julien and Cassidy there has been a system of giving the outside and packing it in. Cassidy has a more modern approach than Julien from the defensive blue line out, but its still about commitment to back checking and active sticks and buy-in.

Its the buy-in that is unique, its not like Julien and Cassidy invented new ways to hockey. And while both Julien and Cassidy seem to have the respect of players, Julien was very loyal and Cassidy sounds like an excellent and clear communicator, I think they buy in comes from the leaders on the ice.

So, like everyone else, I find myself choosing between the Captain and the Next Captain. Voted Bergeron.
 
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JOKER 192

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All these players play their part,

Chara
Bergy
Marchand
Krejci
Carlo
Rask
Jaro
McAvoy
Wags
Nords
Coyle
Kuraly


And to a lesser extent many of the others do their part as well with few exceptions
 
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Aussie Bruin

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Bergeron easily IMO. Chara's ridiculous, particularly in his prime and in his PK role, but he has gaffes that Bergeron never does. Defense is about consistency, and there's no one like Bergeron for that.

The coaching change showed Bergeron can be successful defensively in a more conservative system or a wide open system (the risk/reward ratio for the Marchand/Pasta combo is through the roof under Cassidy, it works as a balance because of Bergeron).

I don't think Marchand is in the conversation, and the fact that his name is up there is just a reflection on Bergeron, I think.

With goalies, we've had some great ones, but there has also been a lot of success with back-ups.

I think this is an excellent point. Marchand and Pasta are able to play a very attacking game because Bergeron (and our D) has them covered when things go wrong, and he does it while still racking up consistently impressive points tallies of his own.

I gave the nod to Bergy, just. Chara, the goalies, the coaches, the systems put in place have all played important parts. But Bergeron made defending cool. With his talent and offensive nous he didn't need to put as much work into his defensive game as he has, but he did, and set the tone for the rest of the team that being really strong defensively is not just expected but something that everyone wants to excel at. Even Pasta has become better on defense in the last 12 months because in this team that's what you do, and Bergeron led the way with that. Of course Chara's had a huge hand in that too, but as a defender it's expected of him, whereas Patrice went the extra mile as a forward, so it stands out that bit more.
 

wintersej

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I think this is an excellent point. Marchand and Pasta are able to play a very attacking game because Bergeron (and our D) has them covered when things go wrong, and he does it while still racking up consistently impressive points tallies of his own.

I gave the nod to Bergy, just. Chara, the goalies, the coaches, the systems put in place have all played important parts. But Bergeron made defending cool. With his talent and offensive nous he didn't need to put as much work into his defensive game as he has, but he did, and set the tone for the rest of the team that being really strong defensively is not just expected but something that everyone wants to excel at. Even Pasta has become better on defense in the last 12 months because in this team that's what you do, and Bergeron led the way with that. Of course Chara's had a huge hand in that too, but as a defender it's expected of him, whereas Patrice went the extra mile as a forward, so it stands out that bit more.

“Bergeron makes defending cool”. Perfectly said.
 

BruinDust

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Coaching. Julien instilled that collapsing defensive structure over a decade ago. Cassidy was smart enough to not fix what ain't broken.

It certainly hasn't hurt to have IMO the best two-way forward and best shutdown D-man of their generation. Both believe in the system, adhere to it and set the example for everyone else. But the foundation was the structure laid by Julien.
 

Aussie Bruin

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Poor Brad, no love for him here. 'There are no wrong answers', except him. Which is obviously correct but I will say this - his defensive game is far better than it has any right to be, and better than that of most forwards of his type. His PK work is very very good and he kills a lot of shorthand time with the puck on his stick out of harm's way. I'd wager many fans of other teams don't recognize how strong he is defensively because it doesn't fit his bad boy reputation. So just a little shout out for Marchy!
 

Trap Jesus

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Poor Brad, no love for him here. 'There are no wrong answers', except him. Which is obviously correct but I will say this - his defensive game is far better than it has any right to be, and better than that of most forwards of his type. His PK work is very very good and he kills a lot of shorthand time with the puck on his stick out of harm's way. I'd wager many fans of other teams don't recognize how strong he is defensively because it doesn't fit his bad boy reputation. So just a little shout out for Marchy!
This is very true, there's a video coming up shortly that'll showcase a lot of that. I think in general he gets underrated offensively and overrated defensively though. His puck control ability is what separates him from others, but it's one of those things where do you consider that offense or defense? It kills time on penalties, but overall I'd say that's an offensive skill.
 

Aussie Bruin

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This is very true, there's a video coming up shortly that'll showcase a lot of that. I think in general he gets underrated offensively and overrated defensively though. His puck control ability is what separates him from others, but it's one of those things where do you consider that offense or defense? It kills time on penalties, but overall I'd say that's an offensive skill.

Well they say good offense in the best form of defense. I think in the context of a PK, where 90% of the focus is simply on killing time and preventing the opposition from getting good looks, then the ability to control the puck and prevent shots is predominantly a defensive skill or asset in that situation.
 

talkinaway

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I'm going to say Chara. In his prime, he absolutely CRUSHED the minutes, and was amazingly responsible defensively while still managing to contribute offensively as well. And, while this may not be the intent of the poll, he's also managed to create the Bruins future defensively by taking the next generation - Carlo and McAvoy - under his wing. No Chara, and I don't think either Carlo or McAvoy would be the player they are today.
 
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