If the Stanley Cup playoffs got underway today, the Boston Bruins, NHL Eastern Conference champions two years ago and top seed in the East last spring, would not be a participant.
The injury-riddled Bruins currently sit 10th overall in the East and will play the Detroit Red Wings Monday at TD Garden minus No. 1 center Patrice Bergeron and Red Wings killer Milan Lucic, both out with undisclosed injuries, but don’t try telling anyone in a Detroit uniform that this makes Boston a soft touch.
“They’re a good team, a good, big team,… Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “They’re well-coached, they know how to play. A veteran, veteran team, they’re really coming on.
“The last time we played them they had just lost to someone and were in a bad mood. This time they lost to someone and they’re in a bad mood. It’s not a good time to catch Boston but we look forward to it.…
The Wings, who were eliminated by Boston in a five-game first-round playoff series last spring after enduring an injury-laden campaign of their own, recognize that the Bruins will find a way to compete even minus many of their key players and with others just back from the injured list and still searching for their A-game.
“They’ve had a lot of injuries for a long period of time,… Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “Even though they’ve got guys back in the lineup, it’s not necessarily you get back in and all the sudden you’re back to where you used to be.
“It takes some time to get back into the swing of things. Let’s be honest, the Bruins are one of the top teams in the league every year. They’re going to find a way to get through this as well.…
Regardless of who they put on the ice, the Wings aren’t about to take the Bruins lightly.
“In all games we play against them they’re always organized and play hard,… Babcock said. “We’re going to have to be hard and organized if we’re going to have success.…
As to their injuries, Babcock insisted it wasn’t even discussed in pre-game preparations to face Boston.
“I don’t think we’re over-confident playing Boston, that’s the first thing,… Babcock said. “The second thing is we didn’t know about the major injuries until now and haven’t told our guys about them. But I don’t think that changes a whole bunch for us.
“We understand they’re not happy because they didn’t play as good as they wanted to last game. It didn’t go as good. Any team that gets beat they want to respond.…
That’s why the Wings are certain they’ll have their hands full facing the Bruins in their home rink.
“You just got to play the game,… Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith said. “You’ve seen us do it where we have big guys injured and we stole points last year. You can’t take any team lightly. Anybody you throw into the lineup is good. You just go play your game and hopefully by playing your best and our system play will take care of us.
“We don’t try to look at that, obviously we know but at the end of the day you just play your game, your style, your system.…
Seeing as they went through the same circumstances last season, the Wings have added proof that a weakened team isn’t necessarily an easy touch.
“It’s funny how that works,… Smith said. “It’s one of those things that you have to fight adversity.
“They’re trying to make the playoffs with the eighth spot. We went through it last year and knew how it felt and so we have an idea. We know how resilient we were, so you can never take a team lightly like this.
“We started beating teams and finding our identity late in the year. We scratched and clawed for wins and they’re going to do the same. It’s a tough thing to lose your guys like that, they’re big boys, but at the end of the day you can never take anybody lightly.…
Lineup Juggling The Wings will make a couple of adjustments to the group that will face the Bruins Monday.
Tomas Jurco skated on the right wing with Tomas Tatar and Riley Sheahan in the morning skate, while Stephen Weiss dropped to the fourth line with Drew Miller and Luke Glendening.
Defensively, Brian Lashoff will draw in for Jakub Kindl in the third pairing with Smith. Kindl is out with what is believed to be a sprained elbow, an injury he indicated occurred in Sunday’s practice.
“We were doing five-on-five drills, game situations, and my arm got caught,… Kindl said. “I took a day off today but I don’t think I would be able to play anyways.…
“At this point I can’t even extend my hands. It feels sore. It looks like a sprain but I don’t know. It just got worse.
“I have to talk to trainers and go from there, see what they want me to do.…
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