Posts tagged nhl
Communication Leads to Calming Effect
NEW YORK, NY - The Bruins always preach about how confident and calm their steady goaltender Tuukka Rask is between the pipes. He’s always a “calming influence,” they say. But it’s not just the confidence the B’s have in knowing he will stop the puck nearly every time he sees it. The netminder’s communication with his teammates, primarily the defensemen, goes a long way.
“He’s one of the guys that never stops talking out there, so he’s comforting. He’s always talking to you, letting you know your options,” said blueliner Torey Krug, following an optional skate Wednesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden the day before Game Four. Krug has now appeared in three NHL playoff games for Boston.
“The game is a lot easier when your goaltender is talking to you.”
“Every time I go back for pucks, he’s in my ear, he’s telling me my options, even when I can’t see. It’s great. He’s a very confident, calm, collected goaltender back there.”
“I know I have the ability to take risks that normally you might not take, but I know Tuukka’s back there and he’s going to make a big save for me.”
That communication also translates to the defensive corps in front of him.
“The big thing is just talking,” said Krug. “The more you talk, the easier the game is. Everybody’s talking a lot, Zee, Johnny’s in my ear all the time, Quaider’s a more quiet guy, but when we’re out on the ice, he’s yelling and screaming when I have the puck.”
“I think communication is the biggest thing.”
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Bruins held an optional skate this morning at Madison Square Garden, so players went about their preferred pregame routines. This was David and Brad’s optional…
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Rich Peverley heads out of the locker room after practice today giving a nod to Step Brothers…
This morning prior to Game One against the New York Rangers, Chris Kelly was asked if there might be an emotional letdown following such a big win like Game Seven vs Toronto….
“There better not be a letdown,” the veteran center said, strong on his words. “All we did was give ourselves an opportunity to keep playing. We put ourselves in that situation; we also found a way to correct it. Yeah, it was great we won the first round, but that’s in the past. Our focus is on the second round now.”
On Wednesday afternoon, following the Bruins’ practice that saw them shift their focus to Round 2 against the New York Rangers, Patrice Bergeron took a few minutes to break down his OT game-winning-goal in Game 7 vs Toronto. (After each win, one of the B’s dissects his goal in the latest edition of “The Black Dog Breakdown.”)
“It was a very special feeling, obviously, the crowd went crazy,” said Bergeron of the mayhem on the ice, before laughing as he watched the video of himself jumping up and down. “But I went crazy as well, the whole team did. So it was something very, very special.”
“It was a a great feeling and fortunate enough, I was at the right place at the right time.”
So, what was it like in that goal celebration huddle against the boards?
“Guys were just yelling, screaming, jumping with a lot of joy,” smiled Bergeron.
“My helmet almost popped off there. I think that’s the hardest I got hit all series there,” he added, laughing. “But it was fun.”
The mindset, of course, for the “always in the moment” Bruins has seen them already move on from the historic comeback win to their next task at hand. But for a few minutes, it was nice to the Game 7 ‘man of the hour’ enjoy a moment that everyone knows he deserved.
Watch Bergy break down his goal here: http://video.bruins.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=1359&id=248976&lang=en
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(Photos by Brian Babineau, Jared Wickerham)
The tough playoff mentality has been in full force for the Bruins, whether through blocking shots, taking a puck to the face, or getting cuts and stitches - and battling through everything.
A quick look around the locker room shows that there aren’t too many members of the Black & Gold without physical evidence that it’s the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“Obviously a little bit of a shiner here on my right eye, but looking forward to tonight,” said Milan Lucic Friday morning, prior to Game 5, after a puck ricocheted and hit above his right eye during the 4-3 OT win in Toronto. “A lot on the line for both teams.”
“We know what’s at stake, we know the job that needs to be done, and like I said, there’s lots to look forward to.”
“For us, we want to do everything in our power to play well and close it out tonight.”
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This is playoffs. You’ve got to do whatever it takes.
We can say all we want in the dressing room and to you guys in the media, but at the end of the day, it’s just us going out there and playing for each other and doing the right things and playing more consistent, shift in, shift out.
We took it as a new season. We closed the chapter; opened a new one a couple of days ago.
The crowd… Boston fans have been great. In the playoffs it’s like another level. It’s really fun to play in front of those fans and I expect it to be the same thing tonight; I’m looking forward to it.
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