BOSTON — There will be no pre-Game 7 war of words between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, at least as far as the B’s are concerned.
There’s already plenty at stake with Wednesday’s winner-take-all matchup looming. In the Boston dressing room Tuesday, no one was willing to give the Habs any sort of bulletin-board material. Instead, the Bruins’ focus is on what they need to do in order to be ready for Game 7 against their bitter rivals.
“I’m not too worried about what’s going on in that locker room, to be completely honest,” forward Shawn Thornton said. “I’m more focused on what’s going on in here and what we have to do. That’s 100 percent true.”
The Canadiens, clearly feeling good about themselves after a 4-0 win in Game 6, haven’t had any problems talking about the B’s. The comments haven’t been malicious, but there’s certainly some willingness to let the guard down from Montreal’s side of things after a perceived lack of respect coming from Boston.
“I’d rather not stoop to their level,” Habs forward Brandon Prust said Tuesday, according to the Montreal Gazette’s Dave Stubbs. “We have a lot of pride in this dressing room. (The Bruins) can do whatever they want. We want to beat them on the scoreboard and beat them in the series.”
Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban also gave the pot a quick stir Monday night after the Habs’ convincing win. To say Subban is looking forward to coming back to Boston for Game 7 might be an understatement.
“It’s going to be great,” Subban told reporters, according to NHL.com. “I can’t wait for the crowd, the noise, the energy in the building. I can’t wait to take that away from them.”
The Bruins aren’t biting.
“No reaction,” coach Claude Julien bluntly stated when asked Tuesday about the Canadiens’ comments. “A game’s going to be played (Wednesday). What’s being said right now doesn’t matter. I think it’s all about going out there (Wednesday) and playing a game. We’re not going to start the he said, she said kind of thing at this point.”
Taking the high road — or however you want to characterize it — probably is the Bruins’ best option anyway. They laid a stinker Monday night and need to be much better in Game 7 if they want to avoid ending their season in very disappointing fashion.
