If you have been anticipating Bruce Cassidy to stroll into the Bruins dressing room and ship a fire-and-brimstone speech to spark his gamers earlier than Saturday’s Game 7, suppose once more.
That’s not Cassidy’s type
“I’m typically not that guy,” mentioned Cassidy. “In game, between periods and I need to say something, I find myself doing it. I don’t think I’ve ever been that’s going in before the game to truly fire guys up. It happens periodically, but mostly it’s reactionary to what’s going on.”
If the gamers aren’t fired up sufficient for a Game 7, then there are larger issues.
“The motivational part of it is now gone,” mentioned Cassidy. “These guys know what’s at stake. It’s more about keeping guys in a good place. Everyone’s going to have to show good composure. There’s going to be ups and downs. We’re going to have bad shifts when things don’t go well. We’ll have good shifts where we can’t let it get ahead of us. (Game 6) was a great example. They score to make it 2-1 and we got right back on the horse and away we went. That as a great sign for me that, OK, stuff happens, put it behind and let’s go.”
Whatever pre-game message Cassidy was going to offer, it leaned towards the technical reasonably than emotional facet of the sport.
“For us, the main message is the team that executes better I think will win the game,” mentioned Cassidy. “You can talk about the finality of the Game 7 if it doesn’t go your way. But focus on your effort and execution. If you execute better than the guy across from you, our chances of winning should go up. That should be your sole focus, not worrying about 8 o’clock tonight and however it plays out.”…
Foligno on the board
You could not have observed it, however Nick Foligno picked up an help on Curtis Lazar’s empty web aim within the B’s Game 6 victory. It was his first level in a month, courting again to an April 14 recreation towards Ottawa when he picked up a helper.
Points have been few and much between for Foligno, however he has carved out a job on the B’s fourth line that confirmed up in an enormous method for the B’s of their Game 6 that prolonged the sequence to Game 7. Foligno, Tomas Nosek and Curtis Lazar all completed at plus-2. Their rambunctious play led to Derek Forbort’s aim as effectively.
For a participant with Foligno’s resume, the transition to fourth line grinding left wing might be a tricky adjustment, however he has appeared to embrace it for what it may possibly do the crew.
“ And he doesn’t love it. He wants to play more. They all do, and he’s had 1,000 games in the NHL and he’s used to playing more, having a bigger role and we’ve discussed that as the year’s gone on, that that’s what’s there for him. I would appreciate it, and the team would, if he accepted it and still played with emotion and was a good leader,” mentioned Cassidy. “I do know he’s talked to me and the coaches a few instances, ‘How can I earn a little more?’ and so forth. Sometime when you will have a superb crew, and I actually put us in that class, there’s simply different guys we’ve put in roles which might be doing a superb job, so there’s a little bit little bit of that that goes on as effectively, however we’ve different guys there.
“At the end of the day, he’s a high-character guy. It’s one of the reasons he was signed, for this time of year, to help us in these areas and these type of games. You saw more of it in (Game 6). And good for him for getting rewarded. It’s tough playing in that role and never showing up on the scoresheet when you’ve typically never done it. If you’ve been a guy that’s never been on the scoresheet for 10 years, you’ve sort of learned how to (deal with it). But he has been, so there’s a bit of an adjustment, not to let it bother him and block out some of the comments or whatever about his numbers, because he’s not in a role where he’s going to put up great numbers. He’s understood that. We appreciate that and the guys in the room do.”…
Odd timing
Hockey gamers are used to 7 p.m. begins, or the occasional 1 p.m. matinee. But the 4:30 p.m. puck drop for Game 7 was a little bit uncommon.
“That’s on-the-bus-to-the-rink time. But it’s the same for both teams. They’ve got to go through it and maybe some of the older players their toddlers don’t enjoy their nap, they want to go for a nap and it throws them off. You laugh but that’s what happens,” mentioned Cassidy with a chuckle. “Some of the older guys get in their routine and their kids get in a routine, so sometimes when you’re on the road, it’s a little easier because you don’t have that. Unless you’re in Long Island like last year and there’s a tailgate going on outside the hotel or fire alarms. Sometimes it’s advantage to be on the road. You’re just by yourself. But it’s the same for both teams. I don’t think it will affect much in Game 7. Guys will find a way to be ready, both sides.”…
Asked earlier than puck drop if he’d seen any traits on this sequence, Cassidy deadpanned, “Yeah, the home team wins a lot. We’re looking to change that.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com