Claude Julien Laments 'Unacceptable' Loss After Bruins Cancel Practice To 'Regroup'
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins' 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Monday afternoon got a coach fired. But it was the one on the winning side.
The hapless Islanders fired head coach Jack Capuano on Tuesday and named Doug Weight interim head coach. Shutting out the Bruins at TD Garden obviously did nothing to help Capuano's job security, but the Islanders' shockingly lopsided win certainly highlighted the same unsettling problems that have plagued the Bruins all season.
The Bruins have struggled against inferior opponents at home for most of the season. Monday was the epitome of that frustration.
Head coach Claude Julien addressed the loss when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday, after the Bruins pulled a surprise move of their own by canceling practice in order to "regroup." A curious word choice, to say the least, considering the Bruins were coming off a 3-1-1 road trip in which they played some of their best hockey of the season in wins over the Blues and Flyers. The loss to the Islanders was clearly not an isolated incident.
Julien did his best not to get into details about issues that he typically handles "internally," as he repeatedly said to reporters. He acknowledged the team's glaring struggles at home versus on the road, but sounded at a loss for words as to how to turn that problem around.
"We can look at our players and maybe it's not quite as good as it was, but it's still as big a reason to lose games like you do at home - it's unacceptable," said Julien. "Our teams are prepared the same way on the road as they are at home, so there's got to be something that's got to be better and we're certainly working on trying to make our team better at home. Because somehow, the preparation is the same but yet the results aren't the same."
Julien also made varying references to the Bruins' need to "do the best with what we've got," implying that the Bruins' roster isn't good enough to meet the expectations of ownership to make the playoffs and potentially make a deep run. It was readily apparent from the start that the Bruins had a borderline playoff team at best, but even the roster they have - as flawed as it may be - should be good enough to sneak into one of the lower seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
It should be a concern that Patrice Bergeron, long one of the team's locker room leaders, acknowledged that "no one showed up" on Monday and that the Bruins may have "thought it was going to be an easier game than it actually was" against the Islanders. After those comments, it makes a lot more sense why the Bruins have so consistently played to the level of their competition.
Unfortunately, a simple coaching change won't make those kinds of issues go away. There may be too much going on between the players. The team looked to be getting on a roll on their road trip before violently crashing back to Earth (and a few feet underground) on Monday. That the Bruins suddenly need to "regroup" only amplifies the unacceptable problems that continue to persist.
But Julien still believes the issues can be fixed.
"I still believe in this group. I never have not believed in this group," said Julien. "Having said that, I think they also understand that there's work to be done and there are challenges ahead."
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
