Brandon Carlo knows how the Boston Bruins can make the most of their time away from home.
The Bruins defenseman explained to reporters Wednesday the mindset he’s adopting in order to thrive amid a long stretch of road games. Having already played four of their last five games away from TD Garden, the Bruins begin a season-long six-game road trip Thursday night in Seattle, where they’ll face the Kraken.
So how do the Bruins prevent homesickness from negatively impacting results? Carlo has the answer.
“It’s tough when you get ahead of yourself,” Carlo said at a press conference. ” … We do try to have that mindset of one day at a time. For myself, I’ve been trying to focus primarily on the positives: you get to come to a new city here; you get to go to California, those are some nice areas; you get to spend time with your teammates. You obviously miss your family dearly and want to be there as well, but we play in a day and age where you can face time so that’s an advantage for sure.
“But yeah, definitely the mental aspect gets tested during this portion of the year. I think you just got to try and stay as positive as possible and enjoy the experience rather than dwell on it because if you’re sitting here thinking ‘aw, I’m not going to be home for 13 days, you won’t have nearly as much fun. So just try to enjoy it.”
Adopting Carlo’s mentality on life on the road will serve the Bruins well until they return home following their March 5 matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Boston is 13-7-3 on the road this season, and that fine record suggests they already are following the mantra Carlo spelled out.
The Bruins will debut some new-look lines Thursday and might stick with them if the chemistry proves effective. Watch NESN’s broadcast of Bruins-Kraken to see Carlo and company in full flow, or catch the game online on Watch NESN Live. Pregame coverage begins at 9:30 p.m. ET. Puck drop is for 10 p.m.
