Bruins Hope To 'Shift Into Another Gear'
BOSTON (CBS) - The Boston Bruins are hoping a home stand will put them back on track as they head towards the postseason.
The Bruins are just 1-3-3 after winning seven straight, and their division lead is down to just one point over the Montreal Canadiens. They hope to add to that lead Tuesday night when the New Jersey Devils come to town.
"We've had some bad games lately. We have to put that behind us and have a very big week," David Krejci said. "We're playing good teams, desperate teams. It's important for us to get back on track and feel good about ourselves before the playoffs."
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The Bruins have shown some frustration during the current slump, but have not lost confidence in a team that has led the division for nearly the entire season.
"We've been saying all year, try not to get the highs too high and the lows get too low," forward Shawn Thornton said. "We weren't doing cartwheels when we won seven in a row either. We're trying to keep an even keel no matter what happens. We've recognized what we need to work on and we're going to try to get better at it over this week."
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Six of the Bruins next seven and eight of their final 11 games will be played on home ice. Five of their opponents are in the playoff picture (Flyers, Rangers twice, Canadiens, and Blackhawks), and will give the B's a good tune-up for the playoffs.
"It's a great challenge, a fun challenge. I think we should just go out and play a game at a time," Center Patrice Bergeron said. "(There's) 11 games before the real season. We can't wait but we have to make sure we get back and are feeling good heading into those playoffs."
Bruins Talk About Turning It Around Down The Stretch
"This is really the time where you have to shift into another gear and be playing your best," Center Gregory Campbell said. "Sometimes I think this close to the playoffs, everybody's excited to get those going and you might be overlooking the games that are really important at this time of the year."
"Its cliché but you really can't turn it on in the playoffs, it has to start now and it has to carry into the playoffs," Campbell added.
"Every team goes through their ups and downs and that happens through the course of the season," Head Coach Claude Julien said. "That doesn't mean you have to sit here and accept it. You hope at the end of the day, or end of the year and say that adversity made us a better hockey club, but in order to do that you have to get the results. That's what we need to get right now, the results."
With the Canadiens in town Thursday night and just 11 games left in the regular season, the results will have to start showing up very soon.
"All the little things sum up to the big picture," Goaltender Tuukka Rask added. "We have to focus on the right things and focus on the little things. Lately we've been doing mistakes we're not known of. Those have been costing us the games."
Bruins-Devils coverage begins at 6:30 p.n on 98.5 The Sports Hub with the Dunkin' Donuts Bruins Pregame show.
