The Boston Bruins are currently enjoying their first two home game win streak of the season. Now, the Black and Gold are heading out on the road in an effort to rack up some points. The Bruins are fifth in the Atlantic and ninth in the Eastern Conference. Thanksgiving is usually the measuring rod for teams when it comes to the playoffs, and at the moment the Bruins are on the outside looking in.
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The Bruins look like they’re starting to come around. Even with the B’s depleted roster (Chris Kelly is our for the season, and recent injuries to Frank Vatrano, David Pastrnak, and Kevan Miller), the B’s are remembering how to put wins together. The biggest reason for the recent resurgence just happens to be the biggest player on the roster. Bruins captain Zdeno Chara is leading his team back up the standings. The 6-foot-9 leader is making it a point to help the team get back to basics. The 38-year old defensemen is even acting as an official supplementary coach for the Black and Gold.
Chara was the number one star in the Bruins 2-0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. That star wasn’t just for his goal that opened up the game for the B’s. It was his leadership and his character that propelled the B’s to victory, and everyone at the TD Garden knew it. His teammates knew that goal was going to be the start of something great for the team.
“That was a big celebration. I think probably the biggest one we had all year. It was a great feeling, I mean it felt like a total team-effort and everybody you know pulled on the rope tonight,” said fellow defenseman Torey Krug post game. “That was a big part of it. You know our leader stepped up and made a big play, and guys were pretty excited.”
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“We know he likes to shoot,” said Claude Julien of his captain. “And I think he just came back from an injury there . I don’t think his timing and stepping into those shots was at its best early on. I think he’s starting to feel better and better. And the injury that he had, it made it that he wasn’t able to shoot as hard as he is right now. So obviously he’s much better.”
A lot of questions were on the Bruins captain as he fought his way back from his rib injury. Would Chara be able to get back to his 2011 form? It was certainly a rough couple of games at start, but as the Slovak blueliner got stronger, the team started to find its focus. Still, it’s been a season of ups-and-downs for the Boston Bruins. The Bruins would take two steps forward, and then take a step back.
Now, Chara has to make sure the team keeps moving in the right direction. He knows it has been a problem in the past, and he’s going to do whatever he can to make sure the B’s keep the momentum going.
“Are we going to be able to respond after good games like we hadn’t before?” pondered Chara to the media after their win against the Wild. “My mind is already past it, and I’m already thinking about the next game. We are at square one. We know that we’ve been in these kinds of situations a number of times. I know it’s close to game 20, but we’ve got to figure out.
“We can’t be obviously playing good games like we did and then going backwards again. I think that we all are already thinking about next game, how we’re going to be playing, what we need to do.”
So now Chara and the Bruins go to the Air Canada Centre to repeat their success against the Leafs. Hopefully, Chara will keep the team moving forward.