'Resilient' Bruins Ready To Bounce Back In Game 5
BOSTON (CBS) - The 2010-11 season has been all about bouncing back for the Boston Bruins.
They are hoping Monday night's pivotal Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning will follow that trend.
"We've stayed resilient all year," said Patrice Bergeron, who leads the Bruins with 17 points in the postseason. "I think it's our character. I think that's the biggest thing. We have a lot of character in this room. We've been showing that all year, playing as a 20-guy unit as a team. When we all play our roll, that's what gives us our success."
Bruins Talk Bouncing Back In Game 5
"We're a very poised group," said center Chris Kelly. "Nothing seems to rattle us. We stay the course regardless of what happens and I think that's made it easier for us to bounce back."
Read: Julien Defends Kaberle, Will Stick With Struggling Defender
"It's kind of what we've been known for so far in the playoffs," said rookie Tyler Seguin. "I have all the confidence we'll do it again."
The Bruins have kept themselves on an even keel all season long, not looking too much into a win and not getting to down about a loss. They are keeping that same mindset after a disappointing 5-3 loss in Game 4 after blowing a 3-0 first quarter lead.
"You cant get too high or too low," said Captain Zdeno Chara. "It's a long year, plus the playoffs (are) just a grind. You're going to have some good games, and you're going to have some games you don't want to remember them, but you have to just put them to the side and focus on the next one."
Sports Blog: Bruins Should Rebound In Game 5
"I think we're a resilient team," said coach Claude Julien. "No doubt about that. You hear that word quite often. But we realize that we're also a team that has given up some leads, and we need to get better in that area."
"But even if we have done that, the one thing we have been able to do is bounce back," the coach continued. "We understand our faults and we understand where we've gone wrong and the next game we try and redeem ourselves. This team is one of those teams that has done that all year. I don't expect any different from them going into the game tonight."
The Bruins will have to make sure they do a better job taking care of the puck in Game 5. Saturday afternoon, turnovers and lack of concentration allowed the Lightning to get back into the game. The Bruins seemed to coast after taking an early lead, showing little to no intensity on the ice.
Dan Roche 1 on 1 With Michael Ryder
They had a chance on a pair of power plays to really put the game away, but did nothing with the extra man. Instead, they allowed Tampa to steal the momentum away from them and never took it back.
"As you know, those first two power plays that generated nothing gave them some momentum," Julien said. "And when they did get the momentum and they scored a goal, it would have been really important for us to really push back and take that trend, get that momentum back, and we weren't able to do that."
Read: Bruins-Lightning Eastern Conference Finals Schedule
"Because we weren't able to do that, they just picked up more and more momentum, and by the time they scored a few goals, they had us on our heels," he added.
But because of their ability to put a bad loss in the past, the Bruins are confident heading into Monday night.
"The feeling is good, it's a series," said Bergeron. "It's not going to be easy. No one said that, we all knew that. It's 2-2, it's not like we're out of it or behind the eight-ball. We have make sure we go out and play our game."
"We have to go out there and stay consistent," said Seguin. "I think especially tonight we want to play a full 60, not just a period here and there."
Every game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Bruins and Lightning can be heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub with pregame coverage beginning 60 minutes before each game with the Dunkin Donuts Bruins Pregame show.
