There aren’t too many phases of the game that Claude Julien’s Boston Bruins clubs have struggled to dominate since he took over behind the bench in 2008. Team defense, balanced scoring, goaltending (My God, the goaltending!); They’ve pretty much nailed down every thing one team can over the course of an 82-game grind and multi-round playoff run.
Well, except one thing-- when it comes to eliminating teams, the Black-and-Gold aren’t nearly as proactive as they should be.
Today will be the Bruins’ 12th Game 5 with Julien behind the bench. They’ve won just five of the prior 11, and are 1-3 when they have the chance to eliminate their opponent. The first win in that situation came in last year’s Game 5 elimination of the New York Rangers in the second round, by the way.
“We look at it one game at a time, we know that tomorrow’s win is just as important as the first three,… Julien said on Friday. “But there is meaning to tomorrow’s win and that is what is a little bit different. We can end it tomorrow but the urgency still has to be there and the focus still has to be there.
“I thought our first period of [Game 4] – it wasn’t that it was bad but we didn’t quite play our game and because of that, they were able to get some opportunities and some speed through the neutral zone. We didn’t have the numbers coming back, it wasn’t so much the stretch guy, it was more of the second wave that was coming through. Once we got that taken care of, our game kind of found its rhythm again and we started playing the way we wanted to.…
Winners of three straight in this series -- the last coming by way of a heart-stopping overtime ended by a Jarome Iginla deflection -- the B’s know that they’re going to get the best that Henrik Zetterberg and the Red Wings have to offer in a do-or-die situation.
“We’ve been in this situation before. We know the fourth one is always the hardest to win,… B’s enforcer Shawn Thornton said during his pregame media availability.
On Boston’s end, you’ll just hope for more of the same from the crease on out, as goaltender Tuukka Rask has been absolutely sensational for the club. Stopping 115 of 119 shots thrown his way through four games -- giving the 27-year-old a .966 save percentage -- Rask has been lights out against a Detroit club that’s struggled to find legitimate scoring chances for much of this series.
Held to the outside most nights, and rarely facing an odd-man rush of any sort, the Finnish netminder knows the chance the B’s have today after sweeping both games at the Joe Louis Arena.
“We accomplished something on the road we really wanted to do. We have a chance to close the series at home,… Rask said on Friday. “It’s an opportunity we really have to use and won’t be easy, but seeing how our game has improved during this series, it’s a good sign, and I think coming home, we just have to really focus on our start and try to get that lead and protect it.…
The Red Wings will counter with Jonas Gustavsson.
Replacing Jimmy Howard (who’s dealing with the flu) in Detroit’s Game 4 loss, the 29-year-old Gustavsson stopped 37-of-40 shots in Game 4, his Stanley Cup Playoff debut. Nicknamed ‘the Monster’, Gustavsson takes to the ice with the hopes of the 2013-14 Red Wings on his back.
No pressure.
Boston’s lineup remains the same as Game 4, as Danny Paille and Chris Kelly are expected to remain out of the lineup once more, while Matt Bartkowski and Kevan Miller, who both missed time last week with a stomach bug, are once again a go once again.
The 41-year-old Daniel Alfredsson (back) draws back into the lineup this afternoon, while defenseman Xavier Ouellet will make his playoff debut this afternoon.
Alfredsson replaces Todd Bertuzzi after just one game, and Ouellet gets the call for Jakub Kindl.