BOSTON BRUINS POSTGAME QUOTES BOSTON BRUINS VS NEW YORK ISLANDERS Saturday, December 9, 2017

BOSTON BRUINS POSTGAME QUOTES BOSTON BRUINS VS NEW YORK ISLANDERS Saturday, December 9, 2017 BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH BRUCE CASSIDY POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE On the team’s defensive effort being one of the strongest of the season so far... Yeah, I mean, I thought we did a good job against Tampa. I mean, it was back to back for them. But still, I mean that’s not our concern – we play the schedule, right, so I thought we did a good job. Second period, a little bit of a lull, obviously, but I think our focus tonight was limit their odd-man rushes, those type of opportunities. So, our focus was a little more working hard to get above the puck, so we didn’t take a lot of chances. So, yeah, I would bid right up there. Like I said, have to think back if that was our best, but certainly in there, in that category. Again, Tuukka [Rask], you can usually tell by how calm and composed he looks – means we’re generally calm and composed in front of him for the most part. It’s not scrambly, so he doesn’t have to become scrambly. So, that’s usually a good indicator, and I thought Tampa he was, Philly, and so we’re getting the result for him, playing in front of him well, scoring a few more goals, and he’s earning his breaks in nets now, too. On Jake DeBrusk’s game tonight... Well, I think it’s good for his teammates to know that he’s going to get in there, whether people think it’s right or wrong or - I didn’t see the hit, just stuff happens quickly. He’s in there looking after one of his teammates, so guys appreciate that. I mean, I said it before, in the playoffs the discipline level goes up a lot and obviously the regular season you need your level of discipline, but at that time and juncture in the game, I think everyone’s fine with it and it will help him in the room. On Jake DeBrusk coming back from the penalty minutes with a goal... Well, that’s the thing right. So we kill a – those are the types of penalties I think you’ll end up killing generally. Some of the lazy ones sometimes you don’t, you know, the guys dig in a little more. They don’t want him to feel bad for doing those things, sticking up for a teammate, so you dig in and then getting the goal, I think it was written that there was a certain player drafted ahead of him, so I think he took it upon himself to maybe show that he’s here for a reason, he’s a good player in his own right, and he was pretty excited about it. Good for him; he’s a young guy and we like that excitement level out of those young guys. On the third period penalties... I don’t know. Marchy’s [Brad Marchand] I saw quickly, obviously something happened in the neutral zone that annoyed him. [David] Backes I didn’t see at all. I haven’t even looked at it. I actually forgot about that; I was looking at the one where Jake [DeBrusk] jumped in and a little bit of Marchy’s but, you know, they made the calls, we have to kill them and that’s the way it goes. On the team maintaining resolve in tonight’s game... No, and that’s a credit to our older guys. You know, we kept our resolve; it’s a good word. I thought we were really stiff in the third and our penalty kill has been good all year and we needed it to be tonight in those stretches and we were, like I said, able to draw a penalty on one of the majors. These are games you look back on, when you’re able to kill those for two key guys in our lineup in the third there that we lose for stretches. So, someone else just has to step up and [Sean] Kuraly and [Danton] Heinen played a little more maybe down the stretch and if those two guys are here. So, it’s a good word, I like that. On if he sees similarities in the team’s play now and when he first started as the head coach... I do, and I’m actually getting to know our team now, that we were hoping to ice from the start of the year. So, a bit of it is, the run has to do with having your good players in the lineup every night and they’re playing well, so that makes a coaches job easier. Ours was always, we talked about finding the right chemistry in the lines and who was going to play with Zee [Zdeno Chara], [Brandon] Carlo, or [Charlie] McAvoy. So, yes, and I think tonight we didn’t have as much offense from the back end, but having said that, Torey [Krug] made some good plays. Grizz [Matt Grzelcyk] got up the ice early for a great chance, Torey got up for the second, so we still had some pockets of that play where we want to be a four-man attack. So, yes, we never want to lose the Bruins identity of hard to play against, but we also want to be able to score when we need to and not, if we get behind a goal, not be that team that can’t come back. So, we need to have that built in that we can score and trust ourselves to play good offensive hockey. On the Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo pairing… I think their gaps were good. That was a focus of trying to kill plays at the blue line for our D. When we are talking about our D, forwards is to try and match their speed early so they are not flying at you and take good angles. But for our D, get them at the blue line. We’ve really been emphasizing that, and add a guy like Grizz [Matt Grzelcyk] in the mix that’s a skater, can get up and use his acumen to kill plays and his foot speed, so – and they are both good skaters, Torey [Krug] and Brandon [Carlo] – so we want them to do that. We don’t want them to have to rely on having to battle down low all night. They are going to have to sometimes in D-zone coverage. But on the initial rush, let’s be up, contest rushes. In order to do that, you have to skate and get your gaps. So good for them. I know they won’t be as successful defending if they don’t have good gaps and aren’t able to kill some of those, those plays. And then transition from there. That’s the last thing to go to your point, where I think we can be better, is transitioning from those turnovers as they are kind of, I think, the next hurdle for us to get where I thought we were last year. On if Torey Krug has been pushed by having Matt Grzelcyk on the team… I do. I think it will in the long run. He may lose a shift or two, which will annoy him. Any player with pride will. But once that part is – you digest that and say, well, I don’t want to lose any more shifts, so what do I have to do to earn the coaches trust or get those shifts back. Because he has our trust, but earn – be the first guy over the boards every time in situations. So he’s going to push himself, and he should. That’s what we want. And then hopefully we get to a nice balance where we don’t have to overuse one guy in every situation. We want Torey to be our 1A in those situations. Charlie [McAvoy] is pushing him too, and now you have Griz [Matt Grzelcyk], so we have three different guys. It’s only going to make us better, and I’ll tell you why. Because those guys – we have guys that aren’t pouting there because of that either. Like I said, there’s a difference between being annoyed and having pride and want, and having a guy that pouts and shuts it down. And we don’t have that. I’m fortunate as a coach that they can wrap their heads around it eventually and just want to outplay the next guy. Even yet still be happy for his success. So it’s a nice problem and you are seeing some of it now bubble up. On Tuukka Rask… Like I said, everything with Tuukka [Rask] looks composed. Not a lot of moments where there is mayhem. And when there is, we’ve kind of shut them down and he’s shut them down quickly, smothering pucks, not allowing rebounds. Like I said, a little more focus in the game when he needs to come out a couple times and once a game almost – maybe it didn’t happen tonight – where he had to win a race to the puck and get it out of harms way. Start of the year that didn’t happen so you’re just seeing a guy putting out fires for us and that’s their ultimate job, is be the last line of defense.

Load more