'Pissed Off' Bruins Ready For Must Win In Montreal
BOSTON (CBS) – After a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night at the Garden, the Boston Bruins woke up in last place in the Eastern Conference.
The mood was a bit mixed when the Bruins laced up for practice on Friday, but no one was feeling particularly good of their current situation.
"Intense I suppose," said forward Shawn Thornton. "Everyone wants to get out of this. We have a lot of character in this room, so nobodies lying down. Everyone's pretty pissed off and wants to get out of this the right way."
"I think just motivated," said Tyler Seguin, who skated with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand in practice. "I don't know the last time this team was as low as we were. I know the season just started, but it's been nine games now so everyone wants to move up."
The Bruins also know if they can get things going soon, it won't be hard to turn the season around.
"It's very early, but it's a position we definitely don't want to be in," forward Brad Marchand said on Friday. "The way we look at it, we get a couple of points and we're right back in the mix. We get hot here and get on a roll we can dig ourselves out of this hole and that's what we're looking to."
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"We're not winning so it's not good enough. Everyone needs to pick up their socks I guess," added Thornton.
As the defending champs, the Bruins are getting everyone's best effort every night along with high expectations; from fans and themselves alike. The first step to turning their around, according to coach Claude Julien, is listen to the critics and take what is coming to them.
"I want us to take responsibility for what's happening. I want us to accept the criticism that is rightfully coming our way," said Julien. "When you admit and realize, that's when you get better. If you want to believe people who feel sorry for you, and say it's a natural thing, that's what it's going to be."
"Everybody will tell you the same thing, we were told and warned it's a challenge, and it is," Julien said of coming back after winning the Stanley Cup. "Right now it's finding the solutions. There were a lot of teams in the past that took a while to find it. We don't want that to happen."
Stats: 2011 Bruins Team Stats
General Manager Peter Chiarelli also said he was actively working the phones, either to make a deal and stir things up, or simply to stir things up.
"It's basically something that's his job and we have to respect that," said Captain Zdeno Chara. "If he feels he needs to improve this hockey club, that's his job."
Another loss to Montreal on Saturday might be just enough for the B's to really shake things up.
"It's a must win for us. We have to make sure we go in ready to battle," Marchand said of Saturday's tilt with the Canadiens.
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"Historically we've been a really good team with our backs against the wall. That's historically, not present day," said Thornton. "I hope we can continue to keep that trend here, because our backs are against the wall. It's not hit the big red panic button time, but our backs are against the wall and we have to get going the other way."
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