Even with a massive lead in the standings, Patrice Bergeron believes the Boston Bruins won't coast through their final 12 games of the regular season.
Instead, Bergeron sees this last stretch of games before the playoffs as an ample opportunity for the Bruins to fine-tune their play.
"I think we like where we're at. I think we can definitely get better," Bergeron told reporters following Wednesday's practice, per team-provided video. "I think there is part of our game that we want to improve and get better at, especially with those 12 games left before playoffs. We want to make sure we rectify some of the things. But obviously, we're happy with where we're at as a team."
It's hard not to be happy with where the Bruins are at. They are on a historic winning pace with a 54-11-5 record and own 13 more points than the next closest team in the Eastern Conference.
Despite the large gap, Bergeron and the Bruins are trying to guard against complacency.
"It's a long season and now you're getting down to the wire. You can see the end, I guess is how I should put it," Bergeron said. "But we're really trying to concentrate on making sure we're working on some of the things that might have slipped in our game and we want to stay on top of it. All over the ice really. We're going to take it a game at a time since that's what we've done all year."
These last dozen regular-season games will be interesting for Bergeron, who will likely be one of the favorites again for the Selke Trophy as he has tallied 26 goals and 29 assists for 55 points.
The 37-year-old is in his 19th NHL campaign and has taken his share of bumps and bruises this season. That could lead the Bruins to having their all-important centerman take some games off, especially with three back-to-backs still remaining on the schedule.
But Bergeron is trying to put off, for now, any conversation of additional rest for himself.
"We're going to discuss that. We are getting closer, but we're going to discuss that down the road," Bergeron said. "Lots of back-to-backs so we'll see how we're going to handle that. As I said before, that's more something (Bruins coach Jim Montgomery), the training staff and myself eventually will have to agree upon."
