This team won't win anything more than divisional titles and 1st round playoff series under Claude Julien. And I can prove this statement. My exhibits A, B, C, D, et cetera (more times than there are letters in the alphabet) are how many times the Bruins have played great for 2 weeks, then generate an outing like this.
It's not really a lack of effort. It's a lack of focus, and a lack of faith. The B's get frustrated and impatient when things don't go well, when the bounces don't come their way, when the puck doesn't fall right. They struggle to score goals, then lose faith in Julien's gameplan, and make glaring mistakes.
Both Minnesota's non-empty-net goals were prime examples of the Bruins losing faith, then losing focus. A flat start to the 2nd period, a bad call on Thornton, then Havlat strolls from the dot to the slot with nobody touching him.
Then in the 3rd, Savard decides to try a skills competition pass in the defensive zone. It was high risk, low reward. Savard usually doesn't do stuff like that, but you can understand the frustration, the lack of results, then the lack of focus.
Sadly, this team isn't talented enough NOT to play Julien's system. They need to be defensive-minded. They need to be low risk, low reward, and high patience. They're like the Jets last year. Keep the score low, manage posession of the puck/ball, and try to grind out a result.
Why do I think this team will never succeed with Julien behind the net? Because they're not buying the patience. The faith between players and coach doesn't last longer than one frustrating period.
The B's need to bring their A Game Saturday night, as they play Montreal up north. The winner will be 1st place in the Northeast.
Photo Credit:
AP Photo
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