An idiot's guide to the Boston Bruins

 

Photo: John Russell/Getty

The Bruins are the top team in the NHL and could go all the way to the Stanley Cup.

Situational awareness: You might start hearing more about the team around the water cooler, at the bar or from gold and black-clad strangers you see on the T.

• Here’s your guide to catch up fast on the Bruins' season so far and what to expect as the playoffs loom.

Players to know: Captain Patrice Bergeron, in his 18th season in Boston, is something of a hockey Tom Brady, with league-topping scoring numbers at 37 years old.

• Right winger David Pastrnak leads the team in goals.
• Defenceman Hampus Lindholm has been a breakout star for the Bs since being traded here from Anaheim last year.

By the numbers: The Bruins have the most wins in the NHL (41), the fewest losses (8), the fewest goals given up (115) and the third-most goals scored (201). A big part of their success has been in goaltending.

• Starter Linus Ullmark leads the league in save percentage and several other stats for the season overall.
• But backup goalie Jeremy Swayman's also put on some fantastic performances in net and can brag about being the best goaltender statistically since mid-December.

Yes, but: But there have been some bumps in the road.

• The team fell to Washington 2-1 last week and went through something of a slump after the midseason break.
• "The Bruins lost three of their final four games before this prolonged All-Star break, the defeats all coming on the road against high-quality Eastern Conference teams — the Lightning, Panthers, and Hurricanes," writes The Globe's Chad Finn.

The intrigue: If you're just jumping on the Bruins bandwagon, you might hear something about last week’s catfish.

• No one on the team was swindled by an online con artist. There was an actual catfish launched onto the ice during a game at Nashville.
• Swayman didn't seem too impressed by Nashville's odd seafood-hurling tradition and gave the fish a casual wave as the period ended.

What’s next: The Bruins play at the Seattle Kraken Thursday night at Climate Pledge Arena.

• If the season continues to go this well, the Bruins will start their playoff journey in mid-April.

Editor’s note: This story was corrected to show that the Bruins play the Seattle Kraken away on Thursday, not the Buffalo Sabres at home.