The Boston Bruins are enjoying the result of their ongoing ripening.
Bruce Cassidy believes the Bruins have been thriving on the road lately due to the benefit of their players' NHL experience. Cassidy credits Boston's leaders for remaining faithful to the team's effective style of play in order to amass an impressive recent road record: 10-4-1 in games played away from TD Garden in 2022.
"I think it's just a product of us being a veteran-enough group," Cassidy said in a press conference following the Bruins' 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. "We still mix some young guys in there, but they understand that our game translates well on the road. We tend to be a patient team, we're going to play the game in front of us. Enough guys in here if things start to get a little wobbly they can grab the bench -- the Bergies (Patrice Bergeron) of the world, and now (Charlie) McAvoy and (Brandon) Carlo are becoming those guys. So I think it works well for us on the road.
"We don't have to put on a show. We've taken advantage of some teams that have pushed the pace ... . So I think our guys understand how to play."
Boston's on-ice leaders make Cassidy's job easier.
"As a coach, having trust in four lines, which we started to do right after the Christmas/COVID break. We found four lines that are working for us, so there's not as much worrying about who's going over the boards next for the other team; let's just roll through, play the guys you're against, if it happens to be their first line or their fourth line, you've still got to perform."
The Bruins will end their season-high six-game road trip on Saturday night when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets. Boston went 4-1 on the West Coast portion of the trip and looks to return to Boston on the high a fifth win would provide.
Be sure to watch NESN's coverage of Bruins-Blue Jackets, which will begin at 7 p.m. ET. Puck drop from Nationwide Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
