Regular-season success not enough for Bruins this year

BOSTON BRUINS

LAST SEASON: 50-20-12, 112 points. Second in Atlantic Division. Lost to Tampa Bay Lightning in Eastern Conference semifinals.

COACH: Bruce Cassidy (second full season, third full NHL season).

ADDED: D John Moore, D Steven Kampfer, G Jaroslav Halak, F Joakim Nordstrom, F Chris Wagner

LOST: F Tommy Wingels, F Rick Nash, F Riley Nash, D Adam McQuaid, F Tim Schaller

PLAYER TO WATCH: Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins No. 1 centre had 63 points in 64 games last season but, at 32, he had off-season groin surgery and back spasms have kept him off the ice for part of training camp. Boston's top line of Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand scored a total of 208 points in the regular season and 53 more in 12 playoff games.

OUTLOOK: The Bruins are poised for another strong regular-season run behind the core of Zdeno Chara, Bergeron and goalie Tuukka Rask. Last year, they advanced in the playoffs for the first time since 2014, but they'll have to get further for this year to be a success.

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Associated Press