Bruins Johnny Boychuk Talks 'Must-Win' Game 4 On Toucher & Rich
BOSTON (CBS) - Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk phoned in from Montreal to the Toucher & Rich show Wednesday morning following a very weak effort by his team in a disappointing 4-2 Game 3 loss to the Canadiens.
The series resumes on Thursday and the B's run the risk of falling behind 3-1. Before discussing Game 4, the veteran blueliner weighed in on Game 3.
After committing thirteen penalties through the first two games, the Bruins were on their best behavior Tuesday night in the Bell Centre, committing just one penalty in the third period.
However, the B's were noticeably less physical and Fred wonders if this concerted effort to stay out of the box resulted in a tentative performance.
"We didn't take as many penalties as we have been in the last couple games so that's a positive. Once we did start hitting and playing our game we did really well and had a lot of chances in the third period," said Boychuk.
After the Canadiens goal by Tomas Plekanec midway through the first, the Habs scored their next two goals on breakaways by P.K. Subban and Dale Weise.
After discussing the Weise goal, Fred was curious to know about responsibilities on defense and how P.K. Subban was able to skate from the penalty box unabated on his breakaway goal.
Lack of communication falls on the shoulders of everyone, and a breakdown in that led to the Subban goal.
"I think it's just everybody's responsibility. There was a little scramble for the puck along the boards at the time of [Subban] almost getting out and I think everybody was looking at the puck to see if we were gonna keep it in [the offensive zone] or not -- we didn't. Everybody has to be letting whoever it is know that there's another guy coming on the ice," said Boychuk.
On Subban, Boychuk acknowledged he did knock the net off it's moorings in the final minute of the game, but in a game where only two total penalties were called the referees aren't gonna whistle him for that.
Boychuk also said the Bruins need to "play the body a lot more" to limit Subban's effectiveness and get him thinking twice about doing certain things on the ice.
Game 4 gets underway Thursday night in Montreal at 7pm, with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes prior right here on 98.5 The Sports Hub with Dave Goucher and Bob Beers, and it's crucial for the Bruins to get off on the right foot.
If you've been keeping track, the team that has scored first has won every game this series.
"It's more or less a must-win game for us. If we go home and we're down 3-1 in the series it's not a good situation that we want to be in. We would rather be in a situation where we're going home 2-2. We know that, and we have to be prepared for it," said Boychuk.
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