The Bruins are excited to get the season under way, and the outlook is very bright.
“There is an expectation on my part, our part and the community at large,” principal owner Jeremy Jacobs said Monday during the team’s media day. “I share the same goal. My vision is to win a Stanley Cup, and I think we have the personalities in place from management, coaches and players. So I look for a great season, and I’ll be disappointed if there’s anything less than that.”
For the first time in recent memory, the Bruins begin the season at home with five straight games in the friendly confines of the Garden. While the team's players are excited about having their fans behind them right away, the Bruins are more focused on simply starting the season strong because, as Claude Julien pointed out, teams that have good starts tend to make the playoffs.
“I think the first part of the season, whether you’re at home or on the road, is probably more important than most people think,” Julien pointed out. “It’s been brought to our attention every year that teams that are in good shape by Thanksgiving are probably teams that are going to make the playoffs. So we’re aware of that and the importance of getting off to a good start, even more so in front of our fans.”
Julien realizes that the team lost 36 goals with the departure of Phil Kessel, but he is very confident in the depth and experience of the squad he will have to start the season Thursday against the Capitals.
“We’re confident as a group here,” Julien said. “We feel stronger as a team as well with some young guys having matured, with Marco Sturm in after being out most of last year. David Krejci is ahead of the curve, and we’re hopefully going to see him in the opener, so I think, all in all, we’re in good shape.”
Julien also likes the goaltending duo of Tim Thomas and potential rookie phenom Tuukka Rask. Rask, he believes, will be able to provide the rest Thomas will need during this Olympic season.
“Tuukka Rask is a great goaltender to help Tim Thomas out with some relief,” Julien said. “We know around the Olympics we’re really going to need him with Tim going to play for Team USA, so we’re confident Tuukka can give us whatever amount of games we need there in March and down the stretch to help Tim ease back in then.
“We have to work our way to the top just like we did last year," Julien continued. "The challenge will be bigger because there’s more respect toward our team this year. Obviously, there are some teams around our conference that have improved. Philadelphia got stronger with the addition of [Chris] Pronger on the back end. A lot of teams improved, but I don’t think I can spend a lot of time worrying about other teams and what they’ve done. It’s about worrying about your own backyard and the preparation of our team. I’ve said all along, if teams want to beat us, they’re going to have to adapt to us, not us adapting to them. We play our style, and we’re confident with it going forward.”
The players, for their part, are approaching this season and the high expectations the same way their coach is. They realize that there is a target on their backs now and that they will need to be prepared for anything.
“We know how it’s going to be, and we’ve seen it already in the preseason,” forward Milan Lucic said. “We just need to be prepared for anything, stick to our system and play hard. We know what we’re capable of, but we have to go out and do it.”
