The Bruins had a fairly disappointing end to last season, losing in the second round to the Tampa Bay Lightning. To be fair though, the Bruins were not well suited to beat an absolutely stacked Lightning team. Last season the Bruins were an inexperienced team, and in the words of Mike Felger, they were “Too, too young.”  
Now, just about five months removed from the Bruins postseason loss to the Lightning, many of the young Bruins are looking to make some major strides in their second year. However, this year’s team could have a similar look to last year’s, as there are two or three new players looking to make the Bruins roster this season. So, could this mean that this year’s team may be even younger and more inexperienced than last year’s team, or will the rookies from last year take a big enough jump to mask the rookie mistakes bound to take place this season?
The importance of youth on the Bruins
The Bruins have a plethora of young guys vying for a roster spot this season; like Jack Strudnicka, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Trent Frederic, and Urho Vaakanainen. And all of them intend to make an impact right away. However, it is the youth that have already made their mark on the Bruins such as Charlie McAvoy, Jake Debrusk, Danton Heinen, Ryan Donato, and Anders Bjork, whom you should expect to make the biggest difference this season. The playoffs should have been a valuable experience for these Bruins, and, as a fan, you would hope that they would build on that by putting together good performances this upcoming season.
The importance of the Bruins first forward line
The combination of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak totaled 228 points last season, and was arguably the best line in the NHL. It seems like as long as this line is functioning, then the team is winning games. However, Bruce Cassidy has said that he would like to split the first-line up at some point this season, and put Pastrnak on the second-line with David Krejci, and Jake Debrusk.
Why would you want to split that up?
Two of the Bruins most glaring issues the past few seasons have been secondary scoring, and figuring out who will be David Krejci’s wingers. One of those issues was solved last year with the emergence of Jake Debrusk, but the option at right wing has yet to be answered. Putting David Pastrnak next to David Krejci should guarantee the Bruins some sort of secondary scoring, and chances are that the first-line right wing will be given to a young guy who has potential to make a big impact, like Anders Bjork or Ryan Donato.
Prediction for the season
The Bruins should be looking to build off of a very successful season by putting together another good regular season this year. However, don’t be surprised if there are some struggles throughout the season due to inexperience. I think the Bruins should make the playoffs easily this season, just as they did a year ago, and make a deep playoff run. I do not believe that the Bruins have the ammo to win a Stanley Cup just yet, but if they can show some sort of secondary scoring and consistent goaltending this season, then that opinion could change. 
The journey begins October 3 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals; where the Bruins will look to spoil the night for the Caps as they raise their 2018 championship banner. The Bruins have not beat the Capitals in the regular season since March 29, 2014. It will be a tough task for the Bruins, but in order to be the best, you have to beat the best, and the Bruins have that opportunity on opening night.