Causeway Crowd
Fansided

Boston Bruins: Same Message, New Voices

By Andrew Thompson

facebooktwitterreddit

Dec 19, 2014; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Boston Bruins head coach

Claude Julien

(L) stands behind the bench during the third period against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. The Jets won 2-1. Mandatory

Credit

: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Bruins are in the middle of one of their toughest road trips of the season. They’ve currently lost four of their last five games, and they’re seeing their grasp on a playoff berth start to slip. Claude Julien chose to take a step back from the practices and allowed his assistant coaches a more vocal role in trying to get the B’s back on the right track.

Live Feed

2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup /

Puck Prose

  • Former NY Islanders earn spots on 'Historic 100' list of Boston Bruins players Eyes On Isles
  • The Boston Bruins announced an incredible All-Centennial teamPuck Prose
  • Former NY Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara finds a new way to push himselfEyes On Isles
  • The Boston Bruins are bringing back another old friendPuck Prose
  • The new faces on the Bruins heading into the 2023-24 seasonPuck Prose

    • Bruins assistant coaches Doug Houda and Doug Jarvis took the leadership role in practice today. The Bruins are hoping the players will appreciate the message coming from all sources in an effort to keep the Black and Gold in the playoff run.

    “We need to understand that we’re still a blue-collar team that has had success in the past and will continue to have success by bringing a better work ethic than the other team and a better commitment,” said the Bruins bench boss. “Everything else seems to come out when those things are very good.”

    Julien has put his finger on the problem. It’s a matter of the team not only hearing the message delivered, but moving forward as a team.

    More from Bruins News

    “Right now that blue-collar approach, that work ethic, and I use the word commitment, work ethic, need to be better,” said Julien. “I don’t think it’s totally there. I’m certainly not questioning the will and desire of our team because I think in their minds there’s no doubt they want to do well. They want to succeed, they want to do the right things, they’re just not doing it right now.”

    “You just hope that you’ve given them enough to chew on and to think about that they’re going to react properly. If we can stop self-inflicting ourselves, a lot changes there and then.”

    The players seemed to have appreciated the change-up in the leadership. Perhaps the B’s ‘doubling down on the Doug’ will give the team a new perspective on the B’s situation.

    “Sometimes when the message just comes from one person, whether it’s the same guys in the locker room speaking up or the same coach talking over and over, when you hear that message from other people, you realize that not just one person is thinking it,” said B’s defenseman Torey Krug after today’s practice. “We definitely know there’s a lot of things we have to get better at, and there’s a lot of things everybody’s noticing.”

    The Bruins will be up north to take on the Calgary Flames tonight. The puck drops around 9:05 EST.

    Home/Bruins News