BOSTON — The Bruins would have been wise to get some rest during their five-day All-Star layoff. They’re going to need it with what the next six weeks have in store for them.
Tuesday night’s matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs kicks off a 40-day stretch for Claude Julien’s squad that includes 21 games, a season-long six-game road trip and just one instance of consecutive off days (coming this Sunday and Monday).
It will be, as more than one Bruin put it following Monday’s return to practice, a grind.
“That’s what you try to do when you get a break: really take your mind off the game of hockey a little bit, and then get ready for that grind because the second half after the All-Star break is always very hectic, and every team is fighting for that playoff spot,” goaltender Tuukka Rask said. “It’s going to be really tight, so we’re ready for that.”
The Bruins enter Tuesday in possession of the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. That’s the exact same position they were in at this point last season, which, of course, ended in disappointment. Boston went 14-11-7 over its final 32 games and fell two points shy of a playoff berth.
That postseason no-show — the Bruins’ first since the 2006-07 season — serves as a nightly source of motivation for players like sixth-year winger Brad Marchand.
“I think you have to be able to learn from your past experiences,” Marchand said, “but we have a lot of new guys on this team and a lot of young legs that should be feeling good at this time of the year. And I think the main thing is that we realize that we can’t afford to give up easy points. We have to battle every night to get each and every point, and at the end of the year, we know that — you saw last year — every game matters. One point can be the difference, and that’s why we really have to buckle down from here on out.”
The road will be difficult. Just five points separate third place from 10th place in the East, and for a young Bruins team that lacks depth, remaining healthy and focused will be paramount during the grueling schedule that awaits it.
“Where we are right now is in playoff position,” Julien said. “We can’t lose that. We’re in it. We’ve got to hold onto it, whether it means moving up or that kind of stuff. And us having a young team, there’s a lot of players here that are going to find out pretty quickly how tough the second half can get. So, we need to get tougher as a group. And when I say tougher, I mean mentally tougher, and probably physically tougher, too.
“It’s going to be a grind from here on in.”
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
