As we slowly move away from the grief over the Bruins’ second-round playoff loss, it’s time to look at the 2017-18 season with a little bit of perspective. Back in October, few people had any expectations. Those who did assumed they were going to be bad. The best that could be said about the B’s was that they were entirely unproven. They had two rookies in the top six, a rookie in the top defensive pair and would add a couple more rookies along the way.

But after a slow start, they became a 50-win team and amassed 112 points. It was a terrific regular season, but the playoff run wasn’t long enough. Part of that was because the current playoff system did not reward them for their season, but that doesn’t really matter. They were beaten by a better team in the Tampa Bay Lightning and were not getting by the Bolts, whether they met them in the second round or third.

We won’t be able to make a full assessment of just how far away this team is from a championship until we see how far the Lightning go. If the Bolts continue their rampage through the East over the Washington Capitals, which could be a difficult task considering the 800-pound gorilla the Caps flung off their back in Pittsburgh on Monday, and win a Stanley Cup, then the B’s could feel a little better about themselves.

But without that knowledge, we hand out the grades for ‘17-18. And mind you, these grades do not ignore the 82-game schedule that preceded that disappointing postseason.

GOALIES

Tuukka Rask: B-

After a concerning start that saw him effectively benched, he ripped off a 21-game point streak (19-0-2) that got the B’s over the hump. He was inconsistent in the Toronto series but good in the Tampa Bay series. His .917 save percentage is still well off from the .930 mark of his Vezina season of 2013-14.

Anton Khudobin: A-plus

Who knows where this season would have gone had he not been able to hold down the fort while Rask was figuring things out?

Incomplete: Anders Bjork, Austin Czarnik, Peter Cehlarik, Colby Cave, Tommy Wingels, Nick Holden, Brian Gionta, Ryan Donato, Paul Postma, Anton Blidh. The likes of Donato, Cehlarik or Czarnik cold be the next kids to get a shot at the varsity next September.

DEFENSEMEN

Zedno Chara: A

The captain’s role has changed. He’s no longer on the power play and he’s not putting up a ton of points. But he’s still one of the top defenders in the league.

Charlie McAvoy: A-plus

Had he not suffered a knee injury, he would have been in the Calder discussion.

Torey Krug: A-minus

Thanks to a preseason broken jaw, he started off slow but would post a career-high 59 points. He’s not the best 5-on-5 defender but is key to the power play. Had he not suffered an ankle injury and been able to play Game 5, maybe the B’s convert on that late power play.

Kevan Miller: B-plus

One of the last images of Miller this season is of his fanning on a clear that led to the tying goal in Game 5, but he continued to make great strides this year. He’s a legitimate second pair defenseman.

Matt Grzelcyk: B

He had a couple of tough moments in the playoffs, but he proved himself to be a very good defender with good hands and feet in tight spaces.

Adam McQuaid: B

Limited to 38 games because of a broken fibula, McQuaid performed his unglamorous job eating pucks and throwing haymakers with his usual professionalism.

Brandon Carlo: B-minus

He had his ups and downs, not unusual for a second-year defenseman. The tough part for both the Bruins and him was that he was playing his best hockey when he got hurt.

FORWARDS

David Pastrnak: A-plus

He led the Bruins in goals in an 80-point regular season, then led the team in scoring in the playoffs (20 points in 12 games). He has become a star.

Patrice Bergeron: A-plus

Bergeron would be the favorite to win his fifth Selke if he hadn’t broken a foot late in the season. At 32, he remains the model of consistency.

Brad Marchand: A

He’s the team MVP. His 1.25 points per game are the best of his career. He loses half a grade for the suspension he took for an elbow to Marcus Johansson’s head. That’s the stuff he has to get out of his game. The licking flap? Please. Sure, it became a bad, tasteless joke that was told too often, but it was a convenient diversion for the league after the officials handed Tampa Bay Game 4.

David Krejci: B-minus

Krejci remains an important piece of this team. They are infinitely better when he’s in the lineup. But he’s having a hard time living up to his $7.25 million a year contract.

Jake DeBrusk: A-minus

The hope is that he’ll become a more consistent scorer with experience, but the rookie showed a lot this year, bouncing back every time he was challenged. He also demonstrated in the Toronto series that he won’t shy away when the spotlight is the brightest.

Rick Nash: D-plus

If he was still affected by the concussion, then this grade might be harsh. He just didn’t provide the secondary scoring for which he was acquired. On top of that, he had some defensive lapses and was a team-low minus-7 in the playoffs. When he was obtained, he looked like he was just what the doctor ordered. He was a presence in the offensive zone and drove possession. The B’s went 8-3 with him, and were without Bergeron for most of those games. But he was brought here for a long playoff run.

Danton Heinen: B-minus

His elevation from Providence was one of the key factors in the team turning a corner in November. But he struggled badly down the stretch and, except for his big Game 7 goal, he had a rough playoffs. He wound up being a healthy scratch.

Riley Nash: B

His regular season was excellent. Not only did he solidify the third line, he jumped up to play first-line center when Bergeron was hurt and helped the B’s secure home ice advantage over Toronto, which was pivotal in helping them win their series against the Leafs. But he was not the same player in the playoffs. Whether it had anything to do with the puck he took off the head late in the season is not known yet.

David Backes: C-plus

There’s a soft spot here for this player with the competitiveness and leadership he brings. Add that to what he fought through to get back in the lineup — his colon surgery was expected to keep him out two months, he missed one — and it’s hard not to like him. But while he had decent production in the regular season (33 points in 57 games), he had his struggles in the postseason (2-1-3, minus-6). The concern now is for his health after he got knocked out of Game 5.

Sean Kuraly: A-minus

As a fourth-line center, the rookie filled his role well, bringing energy and physicality to the table and that continued through the playoffs. Hopefully he can improve on his six-goal output.

Tim Schaller : A

A dozen goals is pretty good for a fourth-liner.

Noel Acciari: A-minus

His toughness was a welcome return to the lineup after he broke a finger on opening night.

Management

GM Don Sweeney: A

You can say his deadline acquisitions didn’t pay off, but he went out and obtained one of the biggest names on the market in Rick Nash. He went for it. But more important than that, he showed some guts to commit to the youth movement. He’ll have some work to do to keep this moving forward, but it certainly seems like he’s coming into his own as an executive.

Coach Bruce Cassidy: A

He was able to take a good group of veterans and a bunch of rookies and meld them into a formidable team. He also played an unexpected goalie controversy perfectly. His decision to go with Brian Gionta in Game 4 was a questionable one and it backfired, but he otherwise displayed an uncanny knack for pushing the right buttons at the right times.