BOSTON — Monday night may or may not be the final game of the Bruins season, but Sunday's workout at the Garden was definitely the club's last practice of the year.
Even if the Bruins can win on Monday and force a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final back in Vancouver on Wednesday, there won't be an opportunity to practice again on Tuesday with yet another cross-continent trip needing to be made.
The Bruins also didn't get to skate between Games 4 and 5 due to the travel, so the extra day between Games 5 and 6 allowing for a final workout on Sunday provided a chance to make some final preparations for what the Bruins hope will be the two biggest games of their lives.
"I think we had a good mood," Bruins goalie Tim Thomas said. "We played at home, traveled most of the day, played the next day, traveled most of the next day, same as Vancouver. We had [Saturday] off the ice, having two days between games, I think it's a nice opportunity to catch up on some rest. But we knew we needed to go out there and have a practice, get our feet moving, practice some of the little things, just taking shots, for me saving shots, and I think it was a good attitude out there. What's the most important is what we do once the puck drops at 8 o'clock [Monday] night."
All the Bruins were present with no changes to the line combinations for practice, which was an intense workout with some hitting and plenty of work on establishing more traffic in front. That's an area the Bruins have stressed throughout the playoffs, but failed to accomplish enough in their Game 5 loss in Vancouver.
"I think it's part of the game that we have to play well," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We need to get to the front of the net and win battles, and it's part of our game and part of their game, as well. If you're going to score goals, you have to win those battles and you have to put the pucks in the net and be there. I would say it was more maintenance. When you want to improve in certain areas, you bring that up to your practice. So it was meant for that reason."
The extra day between Games 5 and 6 has allowed the Bruins to get into more of a normal routine after so much travel in this series, but Julien stressed that the Bruins are not slaves to their routine or superstitions.
"I guess sometimes a normal routine is one thing, but I don't think you have to rely solely on that," Julien said. "I think the thing you have to rely on [Monday] is the guys coming in ready to play, whether they skate or don't skate, whether it's optional. It really doesn't matter at this point. Even the superstitious stuff, some guys have it more than others. I don't believe if somebody is in the building or is not in the building or whether you take a certain route to get to the rink is going to decide the outcome of the game. I think we have to focus on the reality of the thing, and that's us coming in and playing a strong game."
The Bruins also denied that the travel has taken too much of a toll on them in the series, which they hope will require one more trip to Vancouver for Game 7.
"I haven't felt too bad," Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said. "I feel great actually. The sleeping hasn't been too bad. I can only speak for myself, but I haven't really felt too stressed too much with the travel."
The Canucks also conducted their final workout of the season at the Garden on Sunday afternoon. Forward Ryan Kesler did not participate, but Canucks coach Alain Vigneault stated Kesler would be fine for Game 6.
"He's fine, just gave him a day off," Vigneault said. "That's all."
Also missing for the Canucks was defenseman Dan Hamhuis, who remains out since suffering an undisclosed injury in Game 1. Keith Ballard skated with the suspended Aaron Rome on the extra pairing in practice, indicating that Vigneault will likely go with the same lineup as Game 5, with rookie Christopher Tanev remaining in on defense.
"If I was [considering any changes], I wouldn't be telling you," Vigneault said. "But I'm happy with how the guys played last game."
