Bergeron Downplays 'Pressure' On Bruins
BOSTON (CBS) – Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette believes all the pressure is on the Boston Bruins with a 2-0 series lead.
Patrice Bergeron does not agree.
"I don't have anything to say to that," the Bruins assistant captain told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Gresh and Zolak on Tuesday. "That's what he's trying to do, play head games. All we need to do is worry about Game 3 and go from there."
Listen: Gresh & Zo: Bergeron Talks Marchand's Energy
Laviolette made the comments after the Bruins beat the Flyers 3-2 in overtime to take both games in Philadelphia.
"While it relieves us of the pressure, it certainly mounts onto them to be successful now that they have a 2-0 lead," he said.
The Bruins dropped the first two home games of their series with the Montreal Canadiens before coming back to win three straight and eventually win the series in seven.
They also remember how the Flyers came back from a 3-0 series hole last season to defeat the Bruins in seven games. But it is not something the Bruins are dwelling on.
"Almost half the team wasn't there last year, it's almost a new team," said Bergeron. "The guys aren't worried about it, but obviously we know Philly is not going to quit."
It helps that the Bruins have one of the hottest goalies in the NHL. Tim Thomas stopped 52 of the 54 shots he saw, including 46 straight, in Monday night's victory.
"He was unbelievable, he stole the game for us," Bergeron said of Thomas. "We told him in overtime he deserved the win, so we had to find a way to get that goal for him."
That goal came off the stick of David Krejci 14 minutes into overtime, but was originally said to have hit the post. The shot bounced off the bar in the back of the net, so the Bruins had to curb their celebration until video reviewed showed it was, indeed, the game winning goal.
"We looked at (Lucic) and (Krecji), they were both standing there," said Bergeron, who was on the bench at the time. "They had the best view in the building so we thought if they think it's in, then it's in. We all wanted to jump on the ice and celebrate, but the refs were telling us to stay there and play was still going. We were pretty anxious to see the replay and were hoping for it to be a good goal."
The goal was good, and the Bruins had a 2-0 series lead heading back to Boston.
Whether the pressure is on them, we will have to wait until Game 3 on Wednesday.
