Horton/By S. Bradley
WILMINGTON, Mass. — Bruins head coach Claude Julien isn’t itchy to pull the trigger on line changes in the aftermath of his team’s recent 4-4-1 stretch of mediocrity.
Julien instead is emphasizing the need for all 18 skaters and both goaltenders to be better as Boston’s schedule continues to get tougher with a back-to-back this weekend against Pittsburgh and Washington. The Sidney Crosby-less, Jordan Staal-less Penguins visit the TD Garden Saturday afternoon.
“I think today, it’s not about changing the groups or changing lines or stuff like that. It’s mostly about bringing the tempo or work ethic up,” said the coach after his team’s 30-minute practice. “Anybody who watched our practice today, I think, saw that it had a pretty good pace. This is kind of what we’ve got to carry into our upcoming games here, bring our work ethic and commitment and everything else up to the next level that we have to bring it to.”
While the news hasn’t been great for the Bruins on the ice of late, it got a little better off the ice today. Julien said there was a possibility that concussed forward Nathan Horton, who is feeling better, might start to ride the bike and work out.
i don’t disagree with that, but it isn’t saying much. caron may be willing to take a hit but he doesn’t do much else. hamill on the other hand is simply not any good.
Big Jim
Caron will not be a top six forward, but he certainly is a couple of up-ticks from Zach Hamill. Also, he will take a check to make a play, hit an opposing player, and get in front of the net. He does play like a BRUIN, but he should be stronger on his skates and have few less brain cramps along the boards.
i got news for you guys, caron isn’t the answer either.
Pierre
Whitney yes, but Ruttu I’m not so sure about. I still think we need a d-man. Imagine if Chara or Sidenberg or Boychuk goes out with an injury for a couple of weeks.
Anyone else think Whitney or Ruutu would look good in Black and Gold?
Whats the scouting report on a josh Hennessy in providence looks like he has been around for a while and ok numbers any body here seen him play ?
Terry
Or else call Caron up again, and put him on the third line. At least he will take a check to make a play!
I am with B-16 once again. Hamill sticks out like a sore thumb with the rest of the group. i am not picking on Horton with the following statement but he if he comes back needs a lot of time maybee a lot for the rest of the season. So here’s my plan. Bergy line and Merlot are the most consistant play postional lines leave them alone. So called first and third need some attention. What to do speed up the first and third by starting the next game with Peverly and pouilliot, and paille rotating between 1, 3, and 4 line. 4 Line does not get a ton of mins so follow me here. If you have a fast skating Krej with poul, or Paille they are capable of a great break out and crashing offensive zone sending Looch to the net then corner work. Play second line then when third comes on send pev or poull with Kelly. Kelly will hang back for back check and see what they can do with Hamill til horton comes back who if it was for Friday i would put him on the third line not a demotion a chance to heal. Merlot line stays the same and then more rotation. My thought is to throw a lot of speed at the D and wear them down by dumping and chasing and being fast. If that fails I start double shifting a 20 year old named Segy. He with Bergy should always be leading the min’s in a game every game! D with Z and Seid leading the minutes just keep a solid roation of offensive and defensive players interacting. Big games comming up and the current group is stale shake it up you can always put back and see what happens.
Julien’s wrong about changing groups/players. Anyone who saw Hamill throw the puck in front of the net, with no one there, should realize that doesn’t fit with expectations for Bruin players. If he’s fearful of hanging on to it, until someone gets open, then there is a problem here. That one play is not the total cause/fault for the loss, but it does illustrate a short coming. This type of play is no different than defenseman making a bad clear in his own end, when he’s fearful of taking a hit. Sidenberg, Boychuk, and McQuaid take 3 or 4 of these type of hits every game.
P.S. Ferrence has had better games.