Boston Bruins: Reaction and Imagery From Winter Classic
The 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic was played on January 1st in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Montreal Canadiens showed up to play, and the results reflected as much with the Boston Bruins being absolutely embarrassed throughout the entire game.
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The game plan from the Montreal Canadiens was simple, and effective; get to the front of the net. With the return of Brendan Gallagher to the Canadiens lineup, the team found energy early on, and scored their first three goals from within 10 feet of Tuukka Rask‘s goal crease.
The most critical aspect of the Montreal Canadiens’ game was the fact that every single player was involved. With five goals in the game, including tallies from David Desharnais, one, Paul Byron, two, Brendan Gallagher, one, and Max Pacioretty, one, the Canadiens ended the game with 11 players notching at least one point. The Boston Bruins were able to score one goal in the third period by way of a Matt Beleskey tip, but the damage was already done.
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With first place in the Atlantic Division on the line, the Boston Bruins simply couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity to complete the worst-to-first turnaround. The Bruins have now dropped four of their last five games, and certainly started 2016 in a manner much differently from the way they may have envisioned it going.
Following the game, some of the Bruins players along with head coach Claude Julien had this to say:
“I’d say embarrassing more than disappointing. Embarrassing loss.” goaltender Tuukka Rask said.
Torey Krug had similar feelings following the game when he said “There’s no excuse. We weren’t ready to play and didn’t represent our fans and Boston very well.”
Puck Prose
“We just had a tough night…Probably our worst game at the worst time.” said Claude Julien. “You have nights where things just don’t go your way, and we just couldn’t seem to find our rhythm, couldn’t seem to find our game.” While the game may seem like it’s the end of the world simply based on the magnitude of the stage, Claude Julien made it clear that the Bruins need to simply put it behind them. “We don’t have a choice: Got to put these aside. Things don’t get any easier.”
The Bruins have clearly been dealt a hand that has made playing far more difficult, with David Krejci, Jonas Kemppainen, and Chris Kelly all out of the lineup with injuries, as well as David Pastrnak overseas in Finland on a conditioning stint at the World Junior Championships, as well as Brad Marchand set to miss two more games due to a suspension. “We’re challenged right now, and that’s where a team comes into play. Got to play for each other.”
Canadiens Taking The Ice Prior To The Third Period. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Paul Byron Goal Celebration. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Zdeno Chara Blocking A Shot. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Canadiens Goal Celebration. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Canadiens Celebrate Win At The Winter Classic. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Brendan Gallagher Goal. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Bruins Goal Celebration. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Torey Krug Pumped Up. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins simply didn’t get a good enough effort from any of their players in a game that should have evoked the most emotion and the best play from the Bruins of any regular season to this point in the season.
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The Bruins will look to turn the ship around on January 5th when they take on the Washington Capitals. The team will need to play it’s best hockey that night as the red hot Capitals just lost their first game after winning nine straight. Both teams have incredible offensive abilities, and there will likely be a match-up between two elite goaltenders in Tuukka Rask and Braden Holtby.
Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @BShareCohen to discuss all things Bruins and sports