BOSTON – Early on Wednesday morning, Charlie McAvoy put it best.
The Bruins have experienced a significant shift in strategy over the last week.
Following a regular season and beyond of virtually nothing but victories, the Black & Gold are going through their worst run in about two years. Boston has lost three games in a row and four of its previous five, giving up 23 goals in that time.
Even though the Bruins aren’t happy with their recent play, especially defensively, they don’t necessarily see it as a bad thing, especially considering how strong they started the season with a 14-4-3 record, which is still second-best in the NHL.
“We are aware that there are numerous areas in which we need to improve,” McAvoy stated. “We need to build it and take things one game at a time.Adversity is good, at least that’s the mindset I believe this is trying to convey. Misery is a good thing. We didn’t really have anything like that last year, so this is a bit of a change of pace.
McAvoy stated, “You have to meet that adversity head-on and come out on the other side.” You frequently have to break through the barrier. When things aren’t going well, it’s difficult to escape situations like this, but when you succeed, you’ll be able to reflect on it, which will be helpful come playoff time.
“You lose two straight games, trail a few games, and discover a great deal about yourself. Thus, we must approach it from that perspective rather than a “poor me” one. There is no reason to panic; everything is well and we are in a good place. However, we don’t want to see it continue because this is not our norm.
The Bruins held their first full practice since November 19 at Warrior Ice Arena on Wednesday morning in an attempt to end their losing streak. Due to travel and schedule conflicts, the team hasn’t been able to get in many on-ice sessions.
“This is our first practice after the two Sundays before.so that’s ten days,” Jim Montgomery, the coach, stated. It was enjoyable to put some of the behaviors we like to preach into practice. After that, it resumes checking. We’ve just been a simple team to play against, in my opinion. It’s probably the last six or seven games, not just the last three.
Montgomery restated his dissatisfaction with his team’s overall defensive effort, saying that it was a
Montgomery remarked, “I think the only [checking] part we’re kind of happy with…is the forecheck,” adding that the B’s pace hasn’t been adequate. We’re not tight enough, not stealing time and space, if you follow the hash marks in the offensive zone all the way back to our goal line, including the neutral zone forecheck.
Being physically present is one thing, and we desire to be more so. However, eliminating time and space is crucial, and we’re not doing a good enough job of it.You know, sometimes it’s just the composition of your team. As in, are you constructed that way?
