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Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien laid out his expectations for tonight’s Game 7 mere moments after the club’s borderline lifeless 4-0 defeat at the Bell Centre in Game 6. “I expect us to win,… Julien, a coach that’s won eight of his last ten series behind the B’s bench, said on Monday.
With that declaration, Julien not only spoke for his Presidents’ Trophy winning club, but also just about everybody donning their Black-and-Gold from the bottom of Connecticut to the top of Maine.
The Bruins, a team that’s rolled with such consistency throughout the regular season’s 82-game grind, and made quick work of the Detroit Red Wings in round one, should win tonight’s Game 7 showdown against the Montreal Canadiens. That’s just an expectation that’s been established since the puck dropped in early October. And perhaps even earlier, for that matter.
Falling just short in last year’s Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins reloaded their already deep arsenal of weapons with the offseason acquisitions of Jarome Iginla via free agency, along with Loui Eriksson and Reilly Smith from the Dallas Stars in the Seguin trade.
These players were acquired for this time of year, and for this exact game. They’re the talents that are expected to push you over the top this time of year. But they’re not alone. The Bruins, a team absolutely snake bitten by way of the iron behind Carey Price in this series, will need some bounces throughout their lineup tonight. That’s just how a Cup run goes, according to Julien.
“When you win the Stanley Cup, you have played some of your best hockey, but you have also had the breaks. I’ll be the first one to tell you, if we don’t have a little bit of luck when we want it, then we don’t win the Cup,… Julien admitted earlier today. “We have to play our best, we have to get some breaks and a little bit of luck. If you get all of those things, your chances are good but most importantly is control what you can control. I think our effort and our game tonight is something that is in our own hands and then you just have to hope that the other things follow.…
This will be the seventh straight year featuring a Game 7 for the Bruins -- an NHL record -- and the Bruins’ ninth Game 7 since Julien took over behind the bench in 2007-08. Two of those previous eight Game 7s have come against Montreal, with a loss in 2008 (in Montreal) and an overtime win in 2011 (in Boston), while six of the eight have been played in Boston. At home, the Bruins are an even 3-3 in Game 7s, and are 2-2 when a home Game 7 goes to overtime. In essence, tonight’s a coin-flip.
But that’s not taking away the excitement of tonight’s game.
“Well I think it’s do or die, right? To me it’s exciting, I was ready to play last night and I was excited watching the other games on TV. I wish it was an afternoon game versus a night game,… Julien said. “The excitement of wanting to play those – you know, it depends on how you approach it. I’m excited about it and I don’t know having been through a lot of Game 7s is a compliment. We have been through a lot of them so we’ll take it. Hopefully we can take advantage of them.…
It’s do-or-die for both teams, and if the Bruins are going to move on to a date with the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final, contributions from the Krejci line is an absolute must. We entered this postseason with the idea that both David Krejci and Milan Lucic lived for these moments, as the duo enter tonight’s game with four goals (all from Lucic) and 10 points in 15 career Game 7s. Brad Marchand, a player in the midst of a 19-game playoff scoring drought, also comes into tonight’s game with two goals and five points in five career Game 7s.
This is a game where those players absolutely must put their series struggles behind them and get back to playing the style that’s made him all bonafide top-sixers on a Stanley Cup club.
“I think it’s pretty simple, we have to go out there and play our best game and play our game. Not just our best game, but the way we play,… Julien noted. “If you followed our team all you, you’ll know what that is. It’s what I told the players so I am not saying anything different here today.…
The Bruins desperately need the Marchand of Game 7 in Vancouver in 2011, the Krejci of Game 7 against Tampa Bay in 2011, and the Lucic of Game 7 against Toronto last year. Not only for the success of the club in the offensive zone, but based on what they’re dealing at the other end. Slowly but surely, it seems as if the Habs’ top wingers, Max Pacioretty and Thomas Vanek, have come alive, scoring three of Montreal’s four goals in their must-win Game 6.
Being able to match tit for tat, especially with the benefit of last change, will be huge for the Bruins.
But at the end of the day, this one could come back to the play of the two beasts of the Atlantic’s crease, as Tuukka Rask and Price go toe-to-toe for the seventh and final time this spring. This has been a series where you’ve sort of seen these goaltenders trade epic game for epic game. I think that Price was the guy to beat in the first two games of the series (with the exception of his third periods), while Rask turned his game up a notch in both Games 4 and 5. And with Price shutting the B’s out in Game 6 while Rask surrendered three, it’s time to see who can put up one last great fight.
In two career Game 7s, the 27-year-old Rask is 1-1 with an .855 save percentage and 3.87 goals against average, while Price is 1-1 with a .932 and 1.91.
On a lighter note for what’s surely a stressful afternoon for both fanbases involved, here’s a little video from my friends over at OYO Sportstoys, an Acton, Mass. based company making mini-figures of NHL players. They’re releasing a limited edition OYO of Bobby Orr, the greatest Bruin in the team’s history, and came out with this video reenacting Orr’s famous flight from 44 years ago.