Bucky Gleason dead wrong on the Bruins.

This is what NHL beat reporter Bucky Gleason had to say about the Boston Bruins at the beginning of this season. This guy's predictions couldn't have been further from the truth. In fact looking at the Northeast Division the current order of the teams is: Boston 60 points, Montreal 48 points, Buffalo 39 points, Toronto 36 points and Ottawa 31 points. The Bruins are tearing through the first half of the season and are the best team in the east nine points ahead of the Capitals.

Prediction: I wouldn't be surprised if the Bruins won the Stanley Cup this season.

Bucky Gleason's Bruins Season Prediction:
Offense:Marc Savard, right, and Marco Sturm were the only forwards who had 40 or more points last season. Patrice Bergeron should be back
after suffering a serious concussion. Michael Ryder had 31 points for Montreal but spent most of his time in the doghouse. Rating: 1.9

Defense: Zdeno Chara, left, was in contention for the Norris
Trophy, presented annually to the best defenseman named
Nicklas Lidstrom. Ex-Sabres prospect Dennis Wideman has
evolved into a very good player. The others are average
(Shane Hnidy, Aaron Ward), shaky (Andrew Ference) or coming
off injuries (Andrew Alberts). Rating: 2.4

Goaltending: Tim Thomas is coming off a career year with a
28-19-6 record, a 2.44 GAA and a .921 save percentage. The Bruins
would have missed the playoffs without him, but can he do it
again? Rating: 3.0

Intangibles: Bergeron will be a major asset, assuming he’s the
same player he was before the concussion. Coach Claude Julien
needs to address a penalty-killing unit that was dreadful last
season. Rating: 2.4

Outlook: The Bruins slipped into the postseason last year
with a late surge, but they don’t have the depth to return.