Pittsburgh won the face-off battle 14-8
Patrice Bergeron won 3 of his 4 faceoffs
Pittsburgh out-hit Boston 13-10 with Deryk Engelland leading the way with 3…For Boston, Ference and Thornton each had two..
Chara led all players with 9:09 of TOI…
Krejci’s goal was his 9th of the playoffs…is a leading 9-12=21 in the playoffs…
Lucic’s assist gives him 3 in his last 3 games…
KEVIN HARRIMAN
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD DAVID KREJCI
On “the experience factor”…
The past few years I think we’ve been up 2-0 in a series. We’ve been down 2-0, and it went either way, so I think we’ve learned from that and we’ve got to stay in the moment and just take it game by game.
On playing in a “hostile” environment in Pittsburgh and coming back to their home arena…
We’re going to have to play even better than we did because they’re going to be desperate. It’s a really important game. It’s a big difference if it’s 3-0 for us or 2-1 for us, so it’s going to be a big game. The game is going to start from 0-0 so we’ve got to be ready to get off [with] a good start.
On having pride in being dominant off the faceoff circle…
I think we have pretty good centermen, and as long as we’re winning the faceoff that means we’re going to start with puck possession, so that always helps.
On whether there is an extra pat on the back when they are up against someone like Sidney Crosby who is skilled at faceoffs…
We’re just going on the faceoff and trying to win. It doesn’t matter who you go against. Obviously you know who you’re going against, but you’re mindset is to win and do whatever it takes to win the faceoff.
On if there is any update on Wade Redden…
No. Not going to play tonight, that’s about the only update. He’s a day-to-day situation.
On if underrated is a good way to describe David Krejci…
I don’t know how he’s perceived, but I know that he quietly goes about doing his job. As I mentioned the other night, he’s always been a real good playoff performer for us, he seems to thrive in those situations. As you mentioned, maybe somewhere else, but in our surroundings and in our dressing room he’s certainly not underrated.
On how he would rate the physical nature of this series…
Well, it’s been physical, there’s no doubt about it. I think everybody realizes that it’s been a hard, clean, physical series. There hasn’t been that many cheap shots, or there wasn’t that many cheap shots, so far. That’s the way, I think, both teams have played. As much as there’s a serious competition here, there’s also a mutual respect between the two teams, respects the fact that both sides are playing hard right now; that includes us as much as the Leafs that maybe surprised a lot of people with their play. I’m going to tell you right now, I think our team’s played well, played hard, so have they. That’s why they’ve been tight games throughout the whole series. It’s physical. As far as the nature of hits, it depends; obviously in Toronto the hit column seemed real elevated. So it depends how they see a hit and they haven’t been as high over here, so you take it for what it’s worth sometimes.
On being 3-6 in non-Game 7 close out games under him and what lessons he takes from previous close out games…
Well, I knew something positive would come from you [laughs]. It’s a trend of yours. I’m trying to make it 4-6 tonight. How’s that?
On if there is sometimes more pressure on the team trying to close out a series than the team facing elimination…
I think both sides. I can only speak for us right now, we’re ready for this game. There’s no excuses. We know they’re going to come out and give their best, we have to do the same thing from our end of it. I think it’s pretty important that we come out ready to play hard and understand that desperation does a lot of things for teams. We’ve been on the other side as well, so that’s the way I look at it tonight. As far as the series is concerned, they’ve been hard fought games all along and I don’t see it being any different. There’s no reason in the world why we should take a different approach than to go out and leave it all out there.
On if Matt Bartkowski will be in the lineup tonight…
Well, we’ve got two [options]. Obviously, Dougie [Hamilton] and Bart [Matt Bartkowski]. One’s a right shot and one’s a left shot and we have to decide what we want to do with our pairings here. Once we decide that we’ll know who to put in. They’ve both been kind of told that, ‘We’ll let you know.’ It’s one of those two guys.
On if the fact that Bartkowski has been playing a lot factors into the decision…
That’s got nothing to do with it, no. I mean, maybe, if you talk about Bartkowski versus [Aaron] Johnson that’s a left shot, absolutely. Aaron hasn’t played in a long time, it’s been unfortunate that we haven’t been able to play him. Rules are rules, you can’t send guys down for conditioning, so it’s been an unfortunate position for Aaron. Right now, I think we’re favoring Bartkowski over Johnson because of playing time. The other part is right or left, so it’s got nothing to do with playing time.
On how much an advantage would it be for Bartkowski that he has playing games for Providence…
It’s good that he’s been playing. That’s why we sent him down there. At one point, we knew what we were going to start with in the playoffs, so because we had the ability to send him down we wanted him playing for that reason so that if we needed he wouldn’t be sitting for a long time. That’s exactly what happened right now, we’ve got a chance to bring him in. He’s played, now we’ve got to make a decision of right or left shot.
On what the team will be focusing on fixing for tonight’s game…
Obviously, our D-zone. They’ve done a good job of spreading us out and getting some opportunities from that. Every once in a while a rush when we give them too much space is something that maybe you want to tighten up there a little bit. Like I said, overall they’ve done a good job, they’ve played well and they’ve given real good games all the time. Sometimes it’s not just about what we’re doing wrong, but more what the other team is doing right. This series isn’t over. I’m not afraid to give credit, they’ve played well. From our end of it, a team that’s supposedly favored to win, we have the tendency to want to look at our team like we’re maybe underperforming, but we’re not. We’ve played some solid hockey and so have they. That’s why it’s a good series.
BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMAN JOHNNY BOYCHUK
On how it affects the other players on the ice when David Krejci is playing like he did tonight…
He’s such a great player, and he did that a couple of times tonight. … I just feel fortunate to put one in the net.
On David Krejci creating space on the ice…
He’s obviously one of the better players in the league, and he was First Star tonight and he deserved it.
On whether he felt that the team was building towards something tonight…
Yeah, after last game we played a good game and it’s playoffs. Everything is that much more important. If you miss an opportunity it could be the thing between going home and staying in, and we did a good job on capitalizing it, and you’ve just got to make sure to do it next game and put this one behind us. It was a good win, and we have to be ready for them again because they’re going to be coming out extremely hard, and they’ve got a lot of good players.
On the team not flipping a switch before tonight…
The last three games beforehand we were playing a lot more physical, more of a playoff kind of game, and everybody was saying what was going to happen in playoffs, and you just have to make sure when it’s in playoffs that you’re that much more focused, and I think that was the key tonight. We’ve just got to make sure to do it continuously.
On how much their past playoff experience helps them now…
It does, but you’ve just got to take it game by game. We do have experience, but it’s their first time being in playoffs, and you know that they’re going to be coming out and wanting to show us because they have a really good team and a very physical team and if you take them lightly they’re going to beat us.
On whether he could sense from Toronto that it struck them how intense the game would be…
I think we just wanted to focus in on what we were doing and getting it in deep and not really worrying about what they’re going to be doing. We wanted to focus in and minimize our mistakes, and we did a good job at getting it in deep and not having those turnovers that we were having in the regular season.
On David Krejci’s game stepping up in the playoffs…
He’s a game changer. When he’s going, that line’s going. It’s not just one guy in here. It’s the whole team, and I think everybody did a good job on stepping up, and tonight was his night to create that space. Tomorrow could be another guy. It was a great job by him.
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD DAVID KREJCI
On how realized the team was to get good scoring…
We haven’t had many of those, but it felt pretty good. The full 60 minutes. We got good play from all four lines. We’ve got to just keep going.
On why the offense was so much more productive today, at least in producing goals…
That’s a good question; I don’t know. We just try to go out there and play our best. I think we had a lot of chances today, and when you have lots of chances you have to make sure you bury them. Today we did that in the first two periods, we didn’t get them all in the third period, but a win is a win, and we’re pretty happy with the outcome.
On if the playoffs bring out the best in him and his line…
I’m just trying to go out there, do my best and help the team to win games. As a line, I think we did a good job today. We put the puck in the net. But in the playoffs, there’s always somebody new to be a hero, so today I feel like we had a good game, but if we want to make a good run, we know that we’re going to need all four lines.
On if this one game reminds him of the way the team played two years ago…
Two years ago is a long time ago. We have a whole different team right now, so we took it as a new season. We closed the chapter, opened a new one a couple of days ago, and everybody starts from 0-0. We won the first game, and I’m pretty happy about that, but we know it’s going to be a long series. We have to regroup, we have to be ready for the next game on Saturday, and we’re going to have to play the same way, or even better.
On if tonight’s game takes off a lot of pressure…
Playoffs are so different than in-season. You’re trying to build something, and I feel like we built something in the first game. We have to carry it on into the second, but we know that Toronto is going to be even better on Saturday, so we have to bring our ‘A’ game again.
On the jacket he’s wearing…
This jacket—Andrew Ference, he’s a buddy with a few of the rangers, and you can see that we support them, and they gave us this jacket to show their support. You can see the logo on the side here. If you want more information, you should probably ask [Ference].
BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH CLAUDE JULIEN POSTGAME
On how confident that the team was building towards this type of effort…
Well, there was some signs. Like I said, the last, probably, four games or so, we seemed to be turning the corner. But, as I’ve often said, when you’re on a winning streak and you keep winning, you start to see some things happening and it takes a while before you start paying the price for it. I think it was the same way, as far as our team is concerned. We were playing better, we weren’t getting rewarded with the wins. But you could see us turning the corner, so I think that’s one of the things. Today, our guys were focused, they were ready, and at the same time, we’ve been here before, there’s some experience behind it. I thought we played a solid game.
On if he is concerned that the league may review a play involving Andrew Ference…
No, I haven’t seen it. I can’t comment on that.
On what he liked about the Patrice Bergeron line matching up against Phil Kessel…
I don’t think we hard matched the whole game, but for the most part we were. I think the one thing that I think we all know here is that Patrice Bergeron is probably one of the best two-way players in the league, he can do that job. I also felt confident with the way our other lines were going tonight, that they could do the job. In the latter part of the game, the one thing is I didn’t want to get caught shortening my bench up. You think about this series ahead, but you also think about what you’ve been through before getting to this series. There’s an opportunity for me to utilize my bench a little bit more. At the same time, I think it was a matter of getting the right D’s out there against those kind of players.
On how much the team fed off the line of Gregory Campbell, Shawn Thornton, and Daniel Paille…
The one thing about that line, I said that right after the game, they seem to relish that role, they really get excited and pumped about playoff hockey. They really enjoy the role that’s given to them. When we played a couple years ago in Vancouver, they were playing against the Sedin brothers [Daniel and Henrik], that’s how much confidence I had in them. When they’re at the top of their game, and they play a smart game, most of the time they keep the other lines bottled into their D-zone. They certainly helped us, but at the same time, as I mentioned, I thought our others lines did a great job. It was a real good job on our part to have all the lines contributing in a way, I didn’t feel like our team sagged at any time in the game; we kept the tempo and control where we wanted it to be.
On what it does for the team when Wade Redden comes up big like he did…
I was really happy for him, I think I said that this morning, he’s a player that has gone through some rough times. What we’ve tried to do when he came here is make him feel welcome, make him feel appreciated, and give him some confidence that way. So far, it’s paid dividends.
On the play of David Krejci and how he is able to create space…
When David [Krejci] is skating and he’s also, I would say, pretty intense, meaning he’s not afraid to go finish his hits and not afraid to go into the corner and battle for pucks. He’s one of those players that fears nothing, he never has. In other words, when he really gets his mindset to compete hard and get involved, he’s a really great player. He’s been pretty good lately, not just tonight, but before that, so I felt that his game was turning the corner as well, getting better. He proved that again tonight.
On the defense being active offensively tonight…
We’ve been pushing that situation all year. As you know, good teams that score goals are team that have a four-man attack and teams are so good defensively that you need support along the way. I thought our guys did a good job, except for the one time where we allowed them that breakaway. I thought our guys did a great job of supporting and also of getting back. If they were caught deep our forwards did a great job of covering for them.
On extending and protecting the lead in the second and third periods…
Well, all I can say to that is the same thing I said this morning and the day before. We’ve turned the page on that. So that’s what we’ve done. So we did come in in the second and third and say, ‘Are we going to hold this lead; are we going to do this?’ This is a new season, as I mentioned earlier. We’ve got some veteran players that have been through the trenches and certainly know how to react to certain situations like this. And we’re a focused team from start to finish. The first period was over and we were already talking about the second period and how we had to stick with our game plan and everything else. The guys did a great job of that. Same thing with the third period, we didn’t look at the scoreboard we looked at our play in the third period, versus the goals that we scored or goals that we didn’t want to give them. So it was about going out there an finishing the job.
On whether Toronto went too far with the physical play (specifically Orr, Van Riemsdyk, McClaren)…
No. I mean, this is playoff hockey and two tough teams playing each other. You know, whatever happens out there on the ice we’ve been pretty good at being able to handle that stuff – that stuff doesn’t bother us and we’ve been on the other side of it and so on and so forth. There’s nothing whether it was message sending – whatever the case is, it doesn’t really matter because like I said I’m preoccupied with our team. I thought our team reacted well and defended ourselves when we had to and were disciplined when we had to. That’s all that matters right now, and certainly not going to get into this thing about crying about the other team and what they did and what we did. It was a good, hard fought game tonight and I’ll leave it at that.
On whether he sensed a good feeling from the players in the locker room prior to the game…
Yeah, and I said that even after Toronto scored the first goal I really felt that our team was still in good shape and had lots of time. We just had to stick to the game plan, and as I mentioned you know, you get that feeling sometimes and our players were really focused tonight.
On being a “defensive team that can score” and how well the team played defensively…
Well they did, and you know, we’re just one of those teams that we say we are a defensive team that can score. We know when we play good defense that’s what ignites our offense. You know, when we’re sloppy in our own end, we don’t get out the puck, we don’t have a whole line going up the ice. So our offense starts from our defense. That’s what the guys are trying to say and that’s how I try to explain it when people say, ‘Are you a defensive team?’ I don’t think we play anymore defense than anybody else. We hope that we play it as best we can. That’s where our offense stems from – good defense.
On whether he felt like, “Where has this effort been?”…
No because you know, again I explained this morning that the last two months have been hard for us. And the last week and a half with six games in nine days, and when you include what happened in between those days – it hasn’t been an easy stretch for us. It’s been draining; it’s been draining for players to deal with that stuff. I think we’re all sentimental to what happened to this city. And you know, it was just a matter of turning the page right now from the regular season and getting a fresh start. I think mentally I think that was the big difference. And that’s why you probably saw a big difference from our team. And at the same time we’ve been through this before, and you always hope that your experience is going to help you through this. But having said that, you hear coaches say it’s one game. And we’ve got to be prepared to go out and do the same thing again next game.
BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH CLAUDE JULIEN PREGAME
On if Tyler Seguin is ready to handle center…
Well, when was the last time you saw him at center? And you expect me to answer that [laughs]. We put him there because we think he can and we’ll see. It’s a great opportunity for him, he’s played there most of his career and I give him that opportunity as something I think he deserves. So, we’ll see how it goes, and if not then coaches will do what they do, they adjust.
On if the defensive improvements Seguin has made this year make him more ready for center…
Well, yeah, to a certain extent. He’s come in and done a good job backchecking and stuff like that. But it’s going to be a little different for him; he’s not on the wall right now, he’s going to have go down low in support and he’s going to have to cover a little bit more territory, something that we all know Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] does extremely well. He’s got some big shoes to fill, we don’t expect him to fill them, but we expect him to go out there and do a decent job like everybody else. We have the confidence he can skate and more responsibility means a chance to get better as a player and mature as a guy that you can put it in different situations.
On what his thoughts were when Peter Chiarelli told him the team had acquired Jaromir Jagr and what Jagr brings to the team…
I asked him if it was really a done deal…and I wouldn’t believe it until it was publicized on T.V. [laughs]. No, I think he’s a great, great addition. This is a guy that can certainly help our hockey club in many different ways. He’s a guy that can certainly make plays, he’s a big guy – we talked about that – he protects the puck so well, strong on his stick, heavy stick. As you know, the power play is another area that he can certainly fit in. There’s so much I think he can bring and with our club, the way we play, there’s no doubt he will blend in very well.
On if it was obvious to put Jagr with Seguin and Brad Marchand with Bergeron out…
I don’t know. It could have been that, it could have been something different. Like I said, the other night I had to think those things through and see where. Again, I don’t think what you see is necessarily what we’re going to get. We’re going to look and see what fits in best, not just for Jaromir Jagr, but for everybody else. It’s not just about him, I think it’s about fitting guys in areas where they can be good for us. We have to look at the overall picture before we make those final decisions. We’re hoping that Bergy’s [Patrice Bergeron] going to be back at some point and that way we’ll have a clearer picture.
On if it helps that Jagr likes to have the puck, in terms of Seguin not having to carry the load…
I don’t know. Again, this is so early to see all this stuff. My thought process goes a lot further than those little things that you’re thinking about. You can tell more by watching him play, what they can bring, is there going to be chemistry there? There seemed to be decent chemistry there this morning in just the morning skate. When there’s traffic, will it be different? We’ll see. Unfortunately, I’m not, so I’ll wait and see like you guys. I’m on a role this morning [laughs]. That’s what a day off will do for you.
On what he will be looking for from Kaspars Daugavins, besides his shootout skills…
So, you’re trying to be funny now, are you? Trying to steal the show [laughs]. I think he’s a big solid individual. He’s strong on his skates, he’s an above average skater, one of those guys that will give us some grit. You know, I don’t know if we’re going to see him penalty killing tonight, but he’s a guy that can penalty kill. Right now, our penalty kill is going well, I think we need to allow him an opportunity to look at it and see what guys do. But you may see him there down the road. He can shoot the puck, certainly, like I said, he’s a solid individual, so he’s going to give us the grit that we need.
On how he will make up for Bergeron on the penalty kill…
Well, we’ve got other guys. To me, you’ll probably see David Krejci in there, David’s been a penalty killer for us in the past. Since we had lots of penalty killers, we kind of held him back a little bit because, as I mentioned before, a lot of times we’ll come back with his line after we kill. But, we need him right now. He’s certainly in every meeting, capable of being one of those guys. And, like I said, [Kaspars] Daugavins is another one, in a pinch, you can certainly throw in there. We’re OK in that department. Again, you don’t replace Patrice that easily, especially when it comes to faceoffs.
On how Bergeron sounded when he spoke to him…
He sounded positive and sounded good. Again, you never know with those things, you really never know because we’ve said that before and guys have taken a step back, some guys have progressed quicker than others. It’s really a tough thing to predict, as far as how long and is he getting that much better. He could have a set back tomorrow, we don’t know.
On if Jagr gives him more options on the power play…
I think so, it’s pretty obvious that this guy here has been good on the power play and hopefully he’ll be able to showcase that today.
On if there is any news on Chris Kelly…
Yes, he started skating with us, as you saw, this morning. I think it’s just a matter of, probably, days now versus a week. Hopefully he’ll be back.
On what he tells his centers, and what he will tell Seguin, are the three most important things that they have to do…
With Seguin, when people think – I did mention that he has a lot more territory to cover in the D-zone; that’s certainly one of the areas where you expect your centermen to be good. At the same time, we’re one of those teams that first guy in the zone becomes the low guy, so it’s not always necessarily the first guy back. In most instances, when you can switch the centerman comes in. That’s one of the things with Tyler [Seguin], if anything else, I think it might even help his game that instead of just playing along the wall, he’ll be able to move around a little bit more, so that’s something that’s positive for him. He’s been working on his draws since the beginning of the year with [Assistant Coach] Doug Jarvis and he’s gotten better. That’s something that it’s going to be really important that he bears down on those.
On how he balances having Seguin in a comfortable spot going forward…
I think it’s part of everybody’s, I guess, role description. We don’t expect people to be in just one spot and can’t move around. You see that with [Rich] Peverley, Peverley’s a winger that can play center. Seguin’s another one and Kelly is a center that can play wing. We’ve got a lot of guys that bring versatility that way, Dan Paille’s played center in junior. We’ve got a lot of that stuff going on, so when we put guys in certain positions, for the most part, they’ve already been there.
On if Wade Redden is en route…
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD MILAN LUCIC
On tonight’s game…
There was definitely a lot of back and forth. I think there was more shots in this game than probably the whole series combined against Ottawa, which has been pretty tight. Once again, it was a one-goal game against them. They played us hard, but it was good to see us find a way to win.
On the photograph of himself as a child with Jaromir Jagr…
Yeah, a long time ago, back when I was 10 years old, my uncle, Dan Kesa, he played on the Pittsburgh Penguins, and when they played the Canucks I had a chance to go down in the dressing room and meet him, and that was obviously back when he was in his absolute prime, and for us, me and my brother, for us as kids it was pretty awesome to meet a guy like him. And the same feeling today when you hear the news that you get to play with a legend like him, it’s definitely going to be a great addition to our team. I think Claude [Julien] said it best when he said we’re not looking for him to be the savior. We’re looking for him to add onto this team and hopefully make us better.
On how old he was in the photograph…
I was 10 years old in that picture back when I was a lot better looking than I am right now.
On whether it is “insane” to think that he met Jagr when he was relatively new to the NHL and will now play alongside him…
If you would have told me back then that we were going to be teammates down the road, I probably wouldn’t have believed you, but here we are today.
On what the key is to his line’s recent success…
I think the main thing for the three of us is I think we kind of got our confidence back, and it’s more of a positive frame of mind. When things weren’t going so well, we were kind of getting down on ourselves and down on each other where it was a lot of negativity between the three of us, so we love playing on a line with each other, and we know what we’re capable of when we’re at our best, and we’re definitely, we want to contribute. We want to be a big part of this team, and it’s slowly getting to where our game needs to be and where we want it to be.
On David Krejci’s play…
Yeah, Krech [David Krejci] has been a great player, and I’ve been fortunate enough to play with him for six seasons now, and I think he definitely gets us going because as a centerman he controls a lot of the play on any line. So for us, we’re fortunate to have a centerman like him who plays the way that he does and it’s great to see him having a great year.
On whether it is interesting to think about how Jagr will fit in with the team…
Yeah, I mean obviously that’s something that’s the coach’s decision, and he’s going to have to figure out the right type of chemistry and where he fits in, and he’s going to do whatever’s best for the team, and as players we all need to recognize that, and we need to do what’s best for this team because I think it wasn’t too long ago where we did have a successful combination where we ended up winning the Cup and everyone did what they needed to do to win. And I think we have to have that same mentality no matter who you’re playing with or where you’re playing.
On how good he thinks Jagr is after playing in the NHL for so long having played against him…
He’s still got that swagger, and he’s that big body and he’s still showing that he can score, and throughout his whole career he’s shown that he can put the puck in the net. He can show that he can run a power play. He shows that he’s a great play maker, and I think he’s, what is he, tenth or ninth now in all-time scoring, so there’s no secret in what he can do and hopefully he brings that here.
On whether Jagr can still grow a good mullet…
There’s some pretty good pictures back in the 90’s of his mullet, but he’s still got the flow going from the pictures, unlike our new hairdo’s from the Cuts for a Cause, but he’s known for that hair and it’s a part of what makes him who he is, and I’m excited to play with him.
On whether he and his linemates every “crabbed” at each other when they weren’t playing their best…
There was never any crabbing. We like to try to keep it positive, but sometimes things aren’t going the way that you want, the frustration does kick in, and you kind of don’t start thinking the way that you want to, and I think the good thing about our line is that we all have the respect for one another that we don’t crab at one another. We try to lift each other up to get each other going again, and it’s finally starting to come around.
On having issues with teammates because of the family-like atmosphere of the team…
It’s like in any household or whatever you want to call it. We’re around each other as linemates and teammates more than any other type of job, so sometimes you need to vent it out to get it out there in order for things to run smoothly because it’s not going to be perfect at all times, so we definitely do have a good friendship between the three of us and great chemistry, and hopefully we can keep it up here in the last fourteen games and bring it when it’s most important.
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD SHAWN THORNTON
On thoughts on what Jagr will bring…
Obviously he’s got a ton of experience, he’s got a couple rings, he’s still putting points on the board so I’m sure he’ll help our offensive line and that’s for sure.
On hard it is to adjust when Bergeron goes out like that…
You can’t say enough about Patty [Patrice Bergeron] but I think Soupy [Gregory Campbell], Krejci [David Krejci] and Pevs [Rich Peverley] did a good job of trying to step their game up and fill that void. I mean, you can never replace a guy like that but I thought they did a pretty good job in the third of when they were rolling through playing pretty well for him.
On reaction on Jagr news when it was breaking…
I was napping. I didn’t sleep very well last night, I shut it down at like 1:30 and got up at 3:00 so it was official by the time I got up and Rex [Mark Recchi] texted me while I was napping too. He’s with Dallas now so I kind of knew. I really, honestly, didn’t worry about it. I was more focused on the game tonight. We’ll worry about it when he gets here.
On as one of the leaders of the team is there a plan to talk to the team tomorrow…
Oh, thank you. CBA scheduled day off tomorrow so I will not be talking to anyone. Good day to be away. That’s right, we had the Cuts for Cause was originally scheduled for tomorrow. We switched it to the first because we didn’t want anyone’s head to be half-shaved and pulled off stage.
On feeling on bench after Horton’s goal…
We needed that. It was a great play by Looch [Milan Lucic] being strong on it obviously getting that puck through and then Horty [Nathan Horton] picking up the rebound. He’s been unbelievable for us. I think he takes a lot of heat sometimes but everyone in this room loves him and when he’s on he’s a pretty special player and he’s been really good for us of late, I think.
On if he does everything he can to ignore the noise…
Well, I mean, the chatter’s there and it’s obviously in the back of your head and it will be until 4 o’clock tomorrow but it’s out of your control so maybe it’s a little easier said than done but there’s no use in dwelling on it. Just show up and work as hard as you can and hopefully things work out for you. With all the chatter, you can’t get away from it with all the questions that are asked but like I said it’s out of your control so I just hope I’m sticking around.
On how important it is to pull out a win like this with that many shots in the game…
Yeah, it was a little different than our regular game. A lot of shots, a lot of offense at both ends. I think we’re going to have to probably tighten it up in our end a little bit, in the neutral zone but we got the win. I’m not sure how many games we’ve got left but we need to focus on being consistent going forward here and that’s the key.
BY KEVIN HARRIMAN
BOSTON SPORTS DESK PUBLISHER
Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien is not affraid to make changes. Just ask left-winger Milan Lucic and center Rich Peverley.
Lucic’s play has sagged recently. He has gone a month without a goal (Feb 24th) and pointless in his last 7 games. His last points (3 assists) came on March 16 against Washington.
Last week, Peverley was a healthy scratch.
Tonight, Lucic finds himself on the third line, having been dropped down from the team’s first line. Lucic, making $4,250,000, will skate with Peverley and Jordan Caron.
Julien is trying to shake this team up. The Bruins are 2-3 in their last 5 and 6-4 in their last 10. Give him credit for creativity. The coach pulls no punches. Last week pointed the finger at goallie Tuukka Rask. Then came Peverley. Now Lucic.
How will Lucic respond to finding himself being “demoted”. The team is coming off a terrible roadtrip and with just days remaining unitl the April 3rd trade deadline. When you’re moving a $4M player to the third line, I’m not sure how many more internal moves you have before its time to look outside for some help.
CLAUDE JULIEN On envisioning the Lucic-Peverley-Caron line playing a straight-line game…
“I’m expecting everybody. It’s pretty simple. When you don’t play well, you don’t look at just one guy. You don’t look at one line. You look at the whole team. Right now, it’s not about one individual—it’s about the whole team. We got to be better, and right now there’s a lot of guys—it’s not Lucic, it’s not Krejci, it’s not Bergeron—it’s the whole team that has to be better. We have to play a more direct game as you mentioned, but also we got to find ways to score goals. We had chances last game in the first period. I thought we could’ve been in the lead versus down 1-0, but we didn’t bury our chances. We have to be a little more hungry around the net area, and we got to bear down on our opportunities. When you don’t score goals and you’re struggling to do that, you got to work through it. There’s not a million solutions. There’s only one. You got to stick with it and find a way to get those pucks in. “
BOSTON BRUINS SALARIES
| Player |
2012-13 Cap #
|
2012-13 Salary
|
2013-14 Salary
|
| Zdeno Chara |
$6,917,000
|
$6,000,000
|
$8,000,000
|
| David Krejci |
$5,250,000
|
$5,250,000
|
$5,250,000
|
| Patrice Bergeron |
$5,000,000
|
$4,550,000
|
$4,550,000
|
| Milan Lucic |
$4,083,000
|
$4,250,000
|
$5,500,000
|
| Marc Savard |
$4,007,000
|
$6,500,000
|
$5,000,000
|
| Nathan Horton |
$4,000,000
|
$5,500,000
|
UFA
|
| Tyler Seguin |
$3,550,000
|
$900,000
|
$4,500,000
|
| Tuukka Rask |
$3,500,000
|
$3,500,000
|
RFA
|
| Johnny Boychuk |
$3,367,000
|
$3,100,000
|
$3,400,000
|
| Rich Peverley |
$3,250,000
|
$3,000,000
|
$3,375,000
|
| Dennis Seidenberg |
$3,250,000
|
$3,250,000
|
$3,500,000
|
| Chris Kelly |
$3,000,000
|
$2,500,000
|
$3,500,000
|
| Brad Marchand |
$2,500,000
|
$3,000,000
|
$4,000,000
|
| Andrew Ference |
$2,250,000
|
$2,250,000
|
UFA
|
| Greg Campbell |
$1,600,000
|
$1,400,000
|
$1,700,000
|
| Adam McQuaid |
$1,567,000
|
$1,400,000
|
$1,500,000
|
| Dougie Hamilton |
$1,494,000
|
$925,000
|
$925,000
|
| Dan Paille |
$1,300,000
|
$1,300,000
|
$1,300,000
|
| Shawn Thornton |
$1,100,000
|
$1,100,000
|
$1,100,000
|
| Anton Khudobin |
$875,000
|
$800,000
|
UFA
|
| Aaron Johnson |
$650,000
|
$650,000
|
UFA
|
| Lane MacDermid |
$600,000
|
$600,000
|
RFA
|
| Chris Bourque |
$550,000
|
$550,000
|
$550,000
|
| Patrick Eaves (Buyout) |
$258,000
|
$258,000
|
|
| Total: |
$63,918,000
|
$62,533,000
|
$57,650,000
|
