Lucic Defends Julien: 'Have To Do Our Part As Well'
BOSTON (CBS) - Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien was not pleased with his team after their 4-3 overtime loss in Nashville Thursday night.
So much so, the coach called out defenseman Steve Kampfer for his penalty in overtime after the game. The power play for the Predators led to the game winning goal.
"That's a real bad penalty in overtime, and we've seen that a lot lately," Julien said of the rookie's holding penalty. "We have to get sharper with our decision-making because it's getting too costly for us."
Julien has been under of fire lately, and some wonder if he is the right man for the job in Boston. His players are coming to his defense though, and taking some of the responsibility for the team's poor play as of late.
"We're always in it together," Milan Lucic said on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Gresh and Zolak on Friday. "He's just doing things like this because this is stuff we shouldn't be going through this time of the year. We spent all year together, used the same game plan from the beginning of the year. As a coach, it's probably tiring for him to have to repeat himself over and over again. You have to do what you have to do as a coach to light a spark underneath the player."
Listen: Lucic On The Playoffs, Head Hits, and Julien
"It doesn't always have to come from him, it also has to come from the group inside," Lucic added. "That's why we have a leadership group within the players. Sometimes we have to take things among ourselves as players to lead the way. It doesn't always have to come from him barking at us, we have to do our part as well."
