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Cam Neely: Bruins Just Aren't Playing As Well As They Should

It's near the end of October, and the Boston Bruins currently sit on the outside of the playoff picture. They enter play on Thursday night with just a 5-6-0 record, a mark heavily affected by a 2-4-0 home record.

While there have been a number of key injuries -- namely to Zdeno Chara, but also including Kevan Miller and now Torey Krug and perhaps Brad Marchand -- there's no excuse for a team with this much talent struggling so mightily.

Cam Neely said as much in his weekly talk with Felger & Mazz.

"We can be better than we are right now," a none-too-please Neely said. "We need to go out there and play the way we're capable of playing. ... I think the guys who have been around here long enough know what the expectiaitons are from the coaching staff, and from management and our fan base, and we just gotta go out there and play the way we're capable of playing."

A common refrain around the Garden in recent years has been the desire to get into a playoff position by Thanksgiving -- or "U.S. Thanksgiving," as our friendly neighbors to the north often say. Neely noted that generally, the teams that make the playoffs in April are typically already in that position by Thanksgiving.

"I think one year it was really three teams that fell out of the top eight. That was when there was a weak division and the bottom team passed the top team in that division and would kick out that team right out of the playoff hunt," Neely said. "Generally, it's been one or two teams that fall out [of playoff position], or one or two teams that climb back in. So it's shown that it's difficult. It can be done, but it's difficult."

With a lack of answers thus far in the season, head coach Claude Julien has at least broken up the line of Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith in practice. If that happens in games, what does Neely believe is Claude's rationale?

"We'll see how that plays out," Neely said. "That line hasn't really been clicking like we're used to seeing it. I think he's just looking to tinker with the lineup a little bit and see if we can get a couple of guys going here."

Listen to Neely's full conversation below:

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