Will Borgen is soaking up the Bruins' toughest minutes, and Conor Ryan's numbers show the Boston defenseman is winning them.
The Bruins are 13-4-1, first in the Atlantic, and riding a four-game winning streak into Thursday's game against Montreal. Most of the attention goes to the forwards. The numbers behind the blue line tell a different story.
Ryan dug into the 5v5 data this morning and found how little Borgen gets to play with an easy start.
Of the 577 NHLers with at least 100 minutes of 5v5 ice time this year, Borgen ranks 491st in O-zone start percentage. In other words, a lot of his shifts begin in the Bruins' own end, the kind of shift that wears a player down.
The Bruins have still outscored opponents 19-4 with him on the ice at 5v5. Marco Sturm keeps sending him out for the dirty work, and the puck keeps going the other way.
Nobody will confuse him with a scorer. He has 2 goals and 2 assists through 18 games.
His +18 is the best on the Bruins, ahead of Hampus Lindholm's blue-line leadership at +15 and John-Jason Peterka at +12. A defenseman with that rating and 4 points is not riding a hot offensive stretch. He is simply keeping the puck out of Boston's net.
Lindholm has 5 points over the same 18 games, so the production gap is a single point. The gap in how the two are used is much bigger, and Borgen has handled his share.
Is Borgen the bar for any Bruins addition?
Yes, and it matters now. David Pagnotta reported that the Bruins want another stable body on the back end, whether that is Simon Edvinsson or someone else.
We told you Monday that the Bruins were named in Edvinsson talks with Detroit. Edvinsson is a 23-year-old who went sixth overall in 2021. He has no games played this season and is listed on injured reserve in a contract dispute.
Talent is not the issue. But whoever Don Sweeney brings in has to hold up the way Borgen does on starts that favor the other team, and a 19-4 mark is a high bar. Paying a premium for a player who has not played this season, when the incumbent is delivering that, is a hard sell.
Borgen and the Bruins face Montreal on Thursday, with those defensive-zone starts likely to keep coming his way.
Quick hits
MINNESOTA WILDMartin St-Louis believes Quinn Hughes "sold" the late slashing call on Cole Caufield that helped the Wild beat Montreal on Tuesday night. The Canadiens coach clearly isn't letting this one go.
NASHVILLE PREDATORSJuuse Saros blanked the Kings last night, one day after Pekka Rinne's Hall of Fame induction in Toronto. A fitting way to honor the franchise legend.
ST-LOUIS BLUESJim Montgomery was blunt about Dalibor Dvorsky after the Blues' 3-2 win over Detroit on Tuesday night. That is a message a young player cannot miss.
NEW JERSEY DEVILSSheldon Keefe says a change on the Devils power play is "not too far away" after Tuesday's 0-for-4 night in Winnipeg. Expect a shake-up soon.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNINGSam O'Reilly, 20, is set to make his NHL debut tonight in Buffalo, according to Erik Erlendsson, with the Lightning down their top center. Quite the opportunity.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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