Claude Julien On Game 7: 'I Expect Us To Win'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Following his team's 4-0 loss in Game 6 against the Canadiens, Bruins head coach Claude Julien was not particularly impressed with the performance of his own team.
Yet he was mighty confident about their chances in the upcoming Game 7.
Julien was asked late in his postgame press conference what he expects in the do-or-die Game 7 on Wednesday night. His answer was succinct:
"I expect us to win."
Julien offered a smile, said "Thank you," and then walked off the podium.
It was a display of confidence from a coach who had just witnessed his team lose 4-0 but generate enough early chances to provide reason to believe Game 7 could be a much different story.
"We spent a lot of offensive zone time and had some chances, but if you hit posts and you miss open nets, you've got to bury those chances," Julien said. " And tonight they came back to haunt us."
With that being established, Julien didn't use those missed opportunities to argue that his team deserved to win on this night. It was actually quite the contrary.
"It doesn't matter what it is. It's a matter of you've got to find a way to finish. Simple as that," Julien said. "Whether it's a little bit of puck luck, whether it's us not burying our chances and having to bear down, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, you've got to find a way."
On Wednesday night, they'll look to do just that. The Bruins are 4-4 in Game 7's under Claude Julien but they've won four of their last five. They're 2-1 on home ice in this series and 4-2 at home in the playoffs after they went 31-7-3 at the TD Garden during the regular season.
But whether it's the numbers, the history, or just a gut feeling, Julien made it clear on Monday night that he fully expects his team to be moving on to the next round come Wednesday night.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
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