Boychuk On Toucher & Rich: No Time To Wipe The Rust Off
BOSTON (CBS) - In their first game back from the Olympic break the Bruins sure looked rusty on the road Wednesday night in a 5-4 overtime loss against the Sabres, but with a condensed schedule and 17 games facing them in March, defenseman Johnny Boychuk says there's no time to waste getting back into form.
Boychuk told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich, "I don't think it's going to take us that long at all. Yesterday was a little bit rusty but we don't have time to wipe the rust off. We have to get right into it because we have 17 games in March and it's coming down to the playoffs. We want to go into the playoffs on a good roll."
Of those 17 games, 15 are against teams currently in the postseason or within 5 points and smelling distance of the final playoff spot - not to mention 6 back-to-back games.
Barring a historic collapse the B's are poised for postseason play, but the month of March will be a true test of their grit as they'll be getting their opponent's best on a nightly basis.
The Bruins certainly got the best of the Sabres Wednesday night in Buffalo.
The Sabres possess the worst record in the NHL and don't have much to play for but were still able to edge the Atlantic Divison-leading Bruins in overtime.
Boychuk was to the point on his team's effort.
"If you let up five goals it's not your best performance obviously," said the Bruins blue liner.
On his rooting interest in the Olympics, Boychuk said "I was going straight Canada not going to lie," adding, "I watched the whole tournament and Patrice Bergeron was one of if not the best forward, both offensively and defensively. He gets touted as a defensive forward but when he goes on offense he can do a lot of great things."
The trade deadline is now under a week away and Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli told T&R on Wednesday that he would be open to the idea of moving a current player on the roster.
Boychuk gave the listeners a sense of what the feeling is in the locker room around this time of year.
"You don't pay attention to it. If it's gonna happen it's gonna happen. You can't control it you just gotta play your game. It's part of the business. It's a little bit stressful, but after being here for a lot of years you just get used to seeing guys coming and going. It's not like you won't be friends again, he'll just be on another team."
Fred then got into a discussion about the machismo of Jaromir Jagr and if his absence has resulted in the decline of females at Bruins games.
Listen for Boychuk's reaction and the full interview below:
Johnny Boychuk Interview
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