WILMINGTON, Mass. — Last September, the New England Patriots had their doors blown off by the Kansas City Chiefs on national television. Less than six months later, they were Super Bowl champions.
The lesson: Don’t place too much stock in early-season losses. Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien, whose team suffered a similarly embarrassing loss Thursday night, was preaching the same the following afternoon.
“It is just one game,” Julien said after Friday’s practice, Boston’s first since losing 6-2 at home to the Winnipeg Jets in its season opener. “And we’re fortunate enough to play 82 of them. I just look back at the Patriots last year. When they got beat by Kansas City, the whole world fell apart because of that. It seemed like it was going to be the end of that team. And sure enough, they bounced back. I’m not trying to compare our team to the Patriots, but I’m just saying it’s one game.”
The Bruins followed up their strong first period Thursday night — in which they outshot the Jets 14-6 and dominated possession — with two stinkers, committing numerous defensive miscues as Winnipeg scored five of the final six goals.
It was far from the opener Boston was hoping for, but center David Krejci stressed the importance of remaining upbeat.
“I think there was no reason to be negative (Friday),” said Krejci, who scored the first goal in Thursday’s loss. “We kind of worked on some stuff, obviously we had a meeting before practice. We also talked about some positive things. I feel like we had a good practice … and we should be ready to go for (Saturday).”
Looming Saturday is a date with the hated Montreal Canadiens, who visit TD Garden for the first and only time this season. The Habs finished atop the Atlantic Division last season, going a perfect 4-0 against the Bruins in the process.
Boston’s last regular-season home win over Montreal came way back on Feb. 15, 2012.
“We’re trying to reset for (Saturday), for sure,” defenseman Kevan Miller said.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
