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Things are not as bad as they seem in regards to the Boston Bruins. At the same time, things are not all well with this year’s version of the Black and Gold through 17 games. And they know it.
“I’m gonna be honest. I was excited about the potential and I think there’s reason to be excited about the potential because we’ve seen it. But [I’m] disappointed in the fact that you never know what you’re gonna get from either period to period or game to game,… Boston coach Claude Julien said following last night’s 5-4 defeat at the hands of the San Jose Sharks, the B’s seventh loss (six regulation and one overtime) in nine games at TD Garden this year. “That’s the disappointing part right now.
“There’s potential here and if everybody really takes charge of their own jobs, and then show up every night and are willing to play whatever game is out there – there’s some teams that like the speed game, there’s some teams that like the [heavy] game. We’ve got to be willing to be able to play and adjust to all those kinds of games, but more or less master ours so that it works against any team. Ours is proven in the past to work against any team. But right now I don’t think we’ve got the focus or commitment of the whole group. I’m not saying anything that nobody knows here.…
As Julien alluded to, it’s painfully obvious that the Bruins are not on the same page on a night-to-night basis. Or even a period-to-period, shift-to-shift basis for that matter. You never know exactly which Bruins squad you’re going to see from game to game (unless the game is played at home -- in that case, you’re going to see a somehow tired-looking, uninspired group). And you already have some of the veterans presences within that room referring to teammates as ‘passengers’, which is, uh, not good.
Still, things could be worse for the Bruins, who are staying afloat in an extraordinarily mediocre Atlantic Division by way of their 8-8-1 mark (just four points behind second-place Ottawa with a game in hand).
Following Tuesday’s loss, Julien and the Bruins expressed the need -- or maybe the want -- to handle things internally and not through the media. And following a Wednesday practice that appeared heavy on defensive zone work for the B’s three-man forward lines, the room’s faith has not yet wavered.
“There’s no one that’s satisfied or happy with, individually with each others’ games or as a team, we know we can be better as a team,… Boston captain Zdeno Chara said on Wednesday. “And obviously that reflects our record.. We just gotta be smarter at times.…
It’s the first year in the Hub for some of the B’s summertime acquisitions -- most notably Matt Beleskey, Jimmy Hayes, and defenseman Colin Miller -- and many of the Bruins’ callups and fill-ins from a year ago have worked their way into regular roles with the club.
So bumps in the road in regards to an adjustment to life with Julien as their coach and in a Bruins sweater seemed like an inevitability, but Chara and the Bruins understand life in the NHL.
In essence, it’s not an excuse to simply not show up to the rink some nights.
“We’ve been able to adjust to changes or players, that’s part of the game, that shouldn’t be an excuse, and certainly it’s not,… Chara, now in his 10th season in Boston as the captain of the club, added. “We have good enough players that we can better and have a better record.…
If the roster’s fine, is it the coaching that’s become the issue for the painfully hit-or-miss B’s? Chara, who has called Julien his head coach for nine of his ten seasons in the Hub, gave the media a resounding ‘absolutely’ when asked if Julien’s message was still getting through to his players.
Whether or not he’s getting through hasn’t been a noticeable issue in the eyes of Julien himself, either.
“Everybody seems to believe in what we’re trying to do here,… Julien noted. “When things don’t go well, people look for reasons. And rightfully so. If [not believing] was the reason and they would tune me out, I’d be the first one that would want to be out of here. That’s not the case. I can tell you that’s not the case and I really feel good about the response I’m getting from players as far as believing.
“Right now we have to fix what we do out [on the ice] and that’s the main thing.…
Among the noticeable on-ice changes Julien made at practice was wing-shifting that moved Brad Marchand back to Patrice Bergeron’s left wing, with Hayes bumped to Bergeron’s right. That put Beleskey and Brett Connolly down to the third line with Ryan Spooner.
“We are a .500 club, we’re not in last place. We’re still in the position where we can improve,… Julien, doing his best to talk everybody -- internal or external -- down from ledges, said. “We can continue to be negative or we can be more determined to improve, and that’s what we’re looking to do here.…
At this point, Julien’s seemingly tried anything and everything short of plugging a fourth-liner next to Bergeron to make things happen. But it’s still a roster that seems capable, at least up front with the forward corp and in the attacking zone, of making some noise in the Eastern Conference this season.
But what makes up that perfect mix is still a complete mystery nearly a quarter into the year.
“I absolutely believe in this group and the players we have,… said Chara.
Defenseman Kevan Miller missed Wednesday’s practice with an upper-body injury. “Right now I don’t have more to tell you than [it’s] an upper-body,… said Julien. The 28-year-old has scored one goal and totaled five points and tallied 45 hits and 34 blocked shots in 17 games this season.
The Bruins return to the rink with a Thursday night battle with the Minnesota Wild.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.