At midway point, Bruins continue to chase their place in NHL history

It's January, and the Boston Bruins still refuse to lose.

Being on pace for the best record of the National Hockey League's 56-year, expansion era begins to resonate nearly halfway through the 2022-23 season.

The Bruins, who took a 29-4-4 record out to California for games in Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim, are bound to come back to earth, aren't they? Only they keep giving us the idea they may never have left.

They win when they should, they win when they shouldn't, and the feedback and reactions after the games suggest that every player in their dressing room knows the difference.

As their first losing streak of the season seemed imminent last month, the Bruins kept pulling out wins and staying grounded. Opponent after well-prepared opponent was determined to knock them down a peg, maybe even into the tailspin that would awaken them from this dream.

Despite determined efforts, Boston's rivals have typically wondered how they let two points slip out of their hockey gloves. Ten of the Bruins' last 17 games were decided by one goal, but the fall that had seemed so inevitable before the holidays has yet to materialize.

Maybe there is no market correction forthcoming. Maybe the Bruins are that good. Maybe it's time we talked about it.

What we know: The 2022-23 Bruins project to an all-time, NHL high 137 points. Their first half rivals the best records in modern history, including the peak of Montreal's 1975-78 dominance.

Here are reasons to consider:

1. Linus Ullmark (21-1-1, 1.86 goals-against average, .936 save pct.): I believe goalies get too much credit and take too much blame. Hockey teams are always making them look better than they are - or worse. That said, General Manager Don Sweeney's 2021 free-agent signee is better than a Vezina this season; if I still had a Hart Trophy vote, he would win. He is the league MVP and the best thing that could have happened to Jeremy Swayman. Ullmark, whose face seems slightly more chiseled this season, has seized his opportunity with breathtaking saves so unexpected they have broken the spirit of many opponents. A normal night for Ullmark is stealing two goals and giving away nothing.

2. Jim Montgomery: Filling Bruce Cassidy's 50-wins-a-year shoes is an unreasonable ask, and Monty was also asked to begin his first season as Bruins coach without Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk and Brad Marchand, who in the fall were all rehabbing from surgeries. Most notably, Montgomery changed the Bruins from a shot-volume team to a puck-possession team. That is, instead of pouring rubber on the goalie, the Bruins hang on for the right shot. In the breakout and in transition, the puck carrier rarely has to look far for a passing outlet. The result has been sustained possessions, greater speed, and discombobulated opponents.

3. Hampus Lindholm: A full season of the nearly 29-year-old Swedish defenseman whose size, skating and puck-moving ability match up on left side the way McAvoy does on the right is a game-changer and ceiling remover for the Bruins. Lindholm is among several who thrive in Montgomery's system.

4. David Krejci: The 36-year-old Czech centerman with the silky mitts may have lost a step during last season's homeland sabbatical, but he shoots the puck harder than ever and is treasuring this opportunity for another go-round with old friends.

5. Pavel Zacha: In the long term, the Zacha acquisition could move up to the top of this list. When New Jersey learned that the rangy, 25-year-old, Czech forward with big wheels and offensive upside would become a free agent this July, they moved on. Sweeney pounced, offering journeyman forward Eric Haula. Zacha, should he re-sign with Boston, is really a center.

6. Jake DeBrusk: How does a pro athlete rescind a trade request? And what happens if Montgomery decides at some point to sit him down like Cassidy did last year? With an index finger in each ear and a tongue wagging "la-la-la-la-la-la," Bruins management blissfully tuned out such conjecture. On a pace for 35 goals, DeBrusk scored both in Monday's 2-1, Winter Classic win over Pittsburgh at Fenway Park. He's banged up now because he went to the net and got hit by a puck. DeBrusk has become a player ready to impact a playoff series. Do I hear four?

7. Connor Clifton and Derek Forbort: "Cliffy Hockey" is dying not because the defenseman has muted his ferocity but because he and Montgomery "both hate it" when he is branded as a sideshow. Meantime, the lengthy Forbort is quicker this season, and a little quicker makes him a lot more formidable.

8. Nick Foligno and Trent Frederic: Boston's most physical forwards played out last season like Frick and Frack. Now they meld beautifully with Montgomery's army of forecheckers.

What can derail the Bruins?

Lots of things. They're human, but complacency is not a threat.

What do they need?

Good health, like the 2001-02 Red Wings who won with an geriatric lineup.

As for Patrick Kane speculation, the Bruins are already an embarrassment of riches at the perimeter position. If Sweeney is looking at wingers, make it a monster truck, not another Corvette.

Mick Colageo writes about hockey for The Standard-Times. Follow on Twitter @MickColageo.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: At midway point, Bruins continue to chase their place in NHL history