By Joe Haggerty
CSNNE.com
MONTREALIts time for Claude Julien to open things up and hope for the best before it's too late.
Julien has been the Bruins' coach for the last four years and built a playoff contender. He put the team back on the map.
But this season, Julien's style became predictable. His power play in particular, became stale. Despite its struggles, he made few changes. He's even stood firm as the Bruins' power-play unit sputtered in the playoffs without any moving parts, and only a predictable umbrella formation that foes like the Canadiens have seen over and over again.
Two games into what was expected to be an emotional series with the Canadiens, the Bruins still have done nothing on the man advantage.
But that's not all that's gone wrong for Julien's club.
Shockingly, Tim Thomas hasnt been good at all. With a .891 save percentage and five goals allowed on 46 shots, hes the backbone of what's become a leaky Bruins defense. Both Dennis Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk's games look to be falling straight into the Stanley Cup dumpster after the first two games.
Boston Bruins
The questionable defense has allowed the Canadiens to build up early leads in both games, and the Habs seem poised to put a stranglehold on the series as they make their way from Boston back to the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Milan Lucic and Co. are legitimately incensed, and the hope is that theyre going to be able to finally do something about it. Maybe that's a good thing.
Were definitely upset. Were not happy with the results of the last two games, the first two games, said Lucic. The main thing is were fighting the puck and its almost like were shooting ourselves in the foot.
And I think thats the most upsetting part. But like I said we need to put that aside and we need to put our rally caps on and figure something out quick because were definitely running out of time.
It's a feeling the Bruins' power play has felt all too often. Over their first two playoff home games, the Bruins came up empty on all seven chances on the power play. The Bs have the right combos to provide firepower and defensive oomph when it comes to 5-on-5 play, but the power play is another thing entirely. It's one of the top items on the Bs checklist to improve as Julien and his team heads into a much-needed Game Three, and it's one of the biggest black marks on a coaching staff that hasn't been able to foster any kind of man advantage success.
Its tough when you only score one goal in the first two games especially at home and I think we just have to just bear down and find a way. Thats what it comes down to, said Julien. But like you said, its no secret now like the last two teams last year, when they were in trouble, were in trouble right now.
Lucic is normally a producer that rises to the occasion, and he said he had to find a way to rally and get his teammates' heads back in the series. One of those ways is to work harder for Stanley Cup-quality goal-scoring chances. The other is to re-connect with the fan base that wants him to be a physical threat on the ice -- especially against the Canadiens.
Will he live up to those expectations? Will he lead the Bruins out of their current postseason daze?
Who knows?
At this point, there really isnt much to count on as the B's are down 0-2. Perhaps calling Tyler Seguin into the lineup will turn things around and give the offense the spark it so desperately needs.
It certainly cant hurt the Bruins' cause at this point.
Perhaps Seguin's speed, blazing shot and skating speed can do some good against the Canadiens. Perhaps the change will give slumbering center David Krejci a slight boost. Perhapsit will have the same effect that inserting a benched Phil Kessel back into the B's lineup did four years ago against the Montreal Canadiens when the B's were in similar dire straits.Meanwhile Michael Ryder has amassed 24:36 of ice time in the first two games, managed two shots on net and exactly zero impact after Julien showed faith in his streaky winger after he showed nothing down the stretch this season. It's time for Ryder to hit the pine and then move on from Boston along with his overpriced contract.
Dumping Julien's tired umbrella formation on the power play would alsobe a step in the right direction for Boston, too. And running things through Krejci would make sense, but there's no way of knowing if it will be the PP's cure-all. Even if it were, it would depend on Julien's willingness to change -- something he hasn't shown all season. The biggest difference on the power play would and could be some additional player movement, some creativity and a little bit of the strange that opposing penalty killers aren't expecting.Truth be told: the movement on Boston's power play was actually pretty decent in Game Two without Zdeno Chara, and areliance on his 105.9-mphpoint blasts on one time shots as the PP's biggest weapon.Right now opponents know exactly what the Bruins are going to do on their special teams, and that's a bad thing. Seguin could be a wild card on that unit if Julienis willing to tie his team's fate -- and perhaps his own -- to a 19-year-old puck prodigy.
Perhaps Julien is just waiting. Perhaps he's expecting see the team he's seen all season. The one that, on paper, should win this series.
We have to play better and its pretty obvious that were the better team than weve shown, said Andrew Ference. It doesnt matter how many things look good on paper and everything else it doesnt matter at this stage of the year.
Its not about the numbers, its not about the number of shots, its not about the number of faceoffs weve won, at the end of the day its the outcome of the game that matters. And thats what we have to focus on, making sure that the outcome is in our favor.
Its time to win, or pack it in for the Bruins. Its as simple as that.
Joe Haggerty can be reached at jhaggerty@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http:twitter.comHackswithHaggs