I got to be honest, as a coach I'm not one for the big locker room speech. I try to get in the room about 1/2 hour before game time and make sure everyone is present and getting ready. With about 10 minutes to go I'll outline 3 things that I want to see from the team- 3 things we need to focus on to be successful on that day. I'll then leave them the last 5 minutes to get themselves fired up. So I don't really see how this would be any different.
Gotta be honest here people, the regular season results v. Carolina don't really bother me. First game (which we probably outplayed them) was the 2nd night of a back to back and in their house. Next game was Rask shitting his pants and the third game we were missing 37 and 63.
Now, that said, Carolina is the 2 seed for a reason. They are fast, have great depth, a very aggressive approach, top notch team unity, and a couple of elite players who can change a game. This is going to be a battle, as close to a coin flip as any of the Eastern series in my mind. The Bruins ended the year with 107 points despite a fairly turbulent year, they can beat any team in the league in a seven game series, I beleive this firmly. But right now there's only one team to focus on.
First, and most important imo, thing to focus on: getting a good forecheck on them. I think the key to their transition game is speedy breakouts- the Bruins need to get pucks in behind their D and slow those breakouts. I think if we can slow them down on breakouts or turnovers, they lose a lot of their offensive strengths. I think we're going to need F2 and F3 to be especially smart this series. We keep them from smooth transitions and that'll go a long way to victory.
Second, we need to test their goaltender...I certainly have never minded seeing Freddie Anderson in a playoff series, but it does feel a bit different this year, playing behind a strong defensive team. I think him being out (and then coming back in a bit rusty) is only a good thing for us. But we need to take advantage by getting some quality chances early and finishing. Our shooting % is lower than it should be but you can't expect regression to the mean to just show up in time for the playoffs. That said, we've got the forward groups we want and our PP looked like it may finally be coming back around. Let's rough up their 'tenders early and grab this series by the throat.
Finally, We're going to need our elite players to step up. I realize that Carolina's biggest advatage in this series is probably depth, so we need out bottom 6 to play well. But more importantly to me is that our stars be stars. Bergy and Marchy need to lead the best line in hockey, Pasta needs to be in Rocket Richard form, and Chucky Bright Lights needs to show the world he's as good as anyone in the league at what he does. If those guys play the way they can, I think it's enough to overcome the depth issues...bottom 6 and 4 just need to keep things simple, rough Carolina up a bit, and change .' it up quickly. But I don't want to hear about Jordan Staal shutting us down with the matchups in Carolina or Brett Pesce being 'tough to play against.' I just want them scrambling to handle the quartet of Hall of Famers (and their hangers on) that runs them over.
That's it guys- three things to focus on...we get those done tonight, we win the first of 16.
See you out on the ice.
LFG
Gotta be honest here people, the regular season results v. Carolina don't really bother me. First game (which we probably outplayed them) was the 2nd night of a back to back and in their house. Next game was Rask shitting his pants and the third game we were missing 37 and 63.
Now, that said, Carolina is the 2 seed for a reason. They are fast, have great depth, a very aggressive approach, top notch team unity, and a couple of elite players who can change a game. This is going to be a battle, as close to a coin flip as any of the Eastern series in my mind. The Bruins ended the year with 107 points despite a fairly turbulent year, they can beat any team in the league in a seven game series, I beleive this firmly. But right now there's only one team to focus on.
First, and most important imo, thing to focus on: getting a good forecheck on them. I think the key to their transition game is speedy breakouts- the Bruins need to get pucks in behind their D and slow those breakouts. I think if we can slow them down on breakouts or turnovers, they lose a lot of their offensive strengths. I think we're going to need F2 and F3 to be especially smart this series. We keep them from smooth transitions and that'll go a long way to victory.
Second, we need to test their goaltender...I certainly have never minded seeing Freddie Anderson in a playoff series, but it does feel a bit different this year, playing behind a strong defensive team. I think him being out (and then coming back in a bit rusty) is only a good thing for us. But we need to take advantage by getting some quality chances early and finishing. Our shooting % is lower than it should be but you can't expect regression to the mean to just show up in time for the playoffs. That said, we've got the forward groups we want and our PP looked like it may finally be coming back around. Let's rough up their 'tenders early and grab this series by the throat.
Finally, We're going to need our elite players to step up. I realize that Carolina's biggest advatage in this series is probably depth, so we need out bottom 6 to play well. But more importantly to me is that our stars be stars. Bergy and Marchy need to lead the best line in hockey, Pasta needs to be in Rocket Richard form, and Chucky Bright Lights needs to show the world he's as good as anyone in the league at what he does. If those guys play the way they can, I think it's enough to overcome the depth issues...bottom 6 and 4 just need to keep things simple, rough Carolina up a bit, and change .' it up quickly. But I don't want to hear about Jordan Staal shutting us down with the matchups in Carolina or Brett Pesce being 'tough to play against.' I just want them scrambling to handle the quartet of Hall of Famers (and their hangers on) that runs them over.
That's it guys- three things to focus on...we get those done tonight, we win the first of 16.
See you out on the ice.
LFG