With three losses in their last four starts ”“ and with a standings slide that has them sinking perilously close to the playoff cut line, the question probably should be asked.
What the heck is wrong with the Bruins?
Funny, that’s the very same thing the Bs are asking of themselves, after Monday night’s 3-0 blanking by the Anaheim Ducks.
Boston fired 45 shots at Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, but the former Portland Pirate netminder wouldn’t yield.
The fact that most of those attempts came outside of the “dirty areas” explains why Hiller was able to record his eighth career shutout.
It also touches on the root of the Bruins recent troubles.
There’s just not enough of a heart beat emanating from the Bs dressing room.
“You can say we had 40-something shots,” said center Marc Savard, “but a lot of them were one shot and out. We’ve got to dig down. I think the intensity level was lacking tonight (for) a lot of us. We created chances, but the bottom line is that you’ve got to come to the rink and want results. Myself included.”
Bs team captain Zdeno Chara added his voice to the chorus of mea culpas.
“Obviously, we are not playing desperate hockey, right now,” said Big Z. “Not enough emotions. For whatever reason, we’re just totally flat. That was not a good performance for us, that’s for sure.”
Coaches, the wise ones knowing that there are no magic buttons to push that will ignite the internal fire, usually leave it to the dressing room to sort out such problems.
However, the club’s tepid play of late has begun to wear a hole in the patience of Boston bench boss Claude Julien.
Where the ever earnest Julien will earn his pay over the next few days is finding the right motivational tactic.
“There have been times when coaches have turned around and done something fun the next day,” Julien said. “Just when everybody thinks there should be a punishment, you do something fun. It surprises them.
“Other times you have to go into practice and really grind it out. Give it a stern message. That’s what we have to figure out.”
Perhaps Julien will give the Bs a choice between Doors No. 1 and 2.
No such angst is being felt by Anaheim left wing Bobby Ryan, who along with fellow ex-Pirates Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, form one of the most dominant lines in hockey.
That line accounted for one of the three goals that got past Bruins netminder Tim Thomas (by Perry).
But by its sheer dominance, it requires opposing teams to spend a lot of energy ”“ particularly on the part of its No. 1 defense pair ”“ to try and shut it down.
Ryan said that the key to this win, the Ducks’ fourth in their last six tries, was puck management.
“We took care of the puck,” said Ryan, who earned the NHL’s Rookie of the Year award a year after leaving Portland. We managed it well through the neutral zone, and anytime you can have the ‘d’ go back on it, and have their head on a swivel, it’s a huge, huge, thing. It led to turnovers and some offense for us.”
The hockey world is still buzzing about the impromptu play Ryan made a week ago, when, after losing his stick, picked up one left by an opponent and promptly scored a goal with it.
And, oh, by the way, Ryan, a righty shot, used a lefty stick to do it.
“I should probably stick to playing lefty full time, because they’re not going to go in right handed,” said Ryan, who has a highly respectable 14 goals to date.
When it was suggested that he might want to switch to a straight-edge blade, Ryan said, “No kidding. I might have to take that into consideration.”
The UMaine mens hockey team will make their annual foray into the Southern part of the state just as the calendar flips to 2011.
Fans of the state’s lone Division 1 hockey program will get an opportunity to get up close and personal with the Black Bears, during events to be held Jan. 1-2.
On New Year’s Day, Maine will conduct a 90 minute practice (beginning at 11 a.m.), as the Black Bears prepare for a tilt with U.S. National U-18 team, the following night (6:30 p.m.) at the Civic Center in Portland.
Also on Jan. 1, the Black Bears will hold a team dinner at the Kerryman’s Pub in Saco.
The public is invited to purchase tickets for the event, which begins at 6:30.
For more information, contact Peter Metcalf at 871-1913 or John Kerry at 838-0233.
Due to NCAA regulations, no prospective student athletes are allowed to attend.
Kudos to members of the Kennebunk hockey team who took part in a visit to the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough, Monday.
Players visited with residents, and handed out specially decorated pucks.
“We want to get the team involved with community projects,” said Kennebunk coach Don Hill, who added, “my father served in World War II, so I have a soft spot in my heart for veterans.
Over the course of time, Thornton Academy has played road games rinks all over Maine, and occasionally outside the state, too.
But it had never traveled to one within its home base of Saco, not until last week, that is.
The Golden Trojans did so by taking the team bus around the corner from campus to the MHG Ice Centre, then beating host Scarborough, 5-2.
“That’s the joke of the day,” said Thornton coach Shawn Rousseau. “The ‘home’ team takes a bus.”
Scarborough is playing its home games at MHG for the first time, after having played at the USM Ice Arena for several seasons.
The Trojans, who use Biddeford Ice Arena as their home rink, had practiced at MHG at times, but had never played a game there.
The Portland Junior Pirates went into the holiday break on a high note, by eking out a tough, 5-4 win over the Northern Cyclones, Sunday, at MHG Ice Centre.
Biddeford alums Cam Madore and Trevor Fleurent both scored in the win, and frequent running mate in those famed floor hockey dust ups at the Fleurent home, Paddy Murphy, added a pair of assists.
The win lifted the Baby Bucs (9-17-1) out of the AJHL’s Northern Division cellar, putting them a point ahead of the Laconia Leafs.
The PJPs are off until Jan 9, when they’ll host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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