What We Learned: Can the Boston Bruins weather early injuries?
The big question hanging over Boston Bruins training camp as it attempts to mount a "Last Dance" of its own is straightforward: How much are the results going to suffer with Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and Matt Grzelcyk out for the first month-plus of the season?
That's an MVP-type, 40-goal, two-way winger, a Norris-calibre defenceman, and that defenceman's most common pairing partner last season. All out for something like the first 12 to 20 games of the season. That's a lot of hockey for some very important players to miss, in a division that has a number of would-be Cup contenders and much-improved also-rans. Apart from when the Montréal Canadiens are on the schedule, it's likely to be tough sledding in the Atlantic Division almost every night. That plus the absences, in addition to a