Energized B’s pace themselves in high-energy workouts

The sight was a little unusual at the start of the Bruins’ practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday after their third straight loss.

The first people on the ice were the five coaches, who skated casually for about five minutes, throwing the pucks into the net while the players remained happy. Given the situation the team is in — 3-4-1 and not playing like a playoff team, never mind a Stanley Cup contender — it had all the makings of the old reliable “players only” meeting.

Captain Brad Marchand said that didn’t happen, saying, among other things, they had a routine meeting with NHL security.

“No, I just had a lot of things to do,” Marchand said.

OK, fine. But when the players hit the ice, practice was full of energy, vigor and physicality, the kind of session you’d hope for after three error-filled losses.

“I thought we had a very good practice. Our biggest thing is our details and we focused on that today,” Marchand said. “We tried to be smart, how we played the puck and how we work. I did a really good job with it today, really good tempo. The boys were focused and attentive so it was a good day. But it’s one day and we have to build on that and get better every day and we need that consistency.”

The noise level on the ice was noticeably high and Marchand said it was no accident.

“It’s something we’ve been talking about for a while,” the captain said. “The more you can communicate about evacuations and early checks, the easier it will be on each other. Part of having a bunch of new guys two years in a row is building that chemistry again, and the more you talk, the easier it is. It’s definitely something we’ve talked about, not just today, but in previous days as well. Again, it’s something you build every day and it becomes a habit. The more you do it, the better you get at it.”

Coach Jim Montgomery was more concerned with overall energy level than communication.

“I think part of the Bruins culture is that we communicate, top down and bottom up,” Montgomery said. “I think the energy level, from what we’ve been missing in training and in games, is something we’ve talked about and it’s nice to see the players have more energy and have some smiles on their faces and enjoy scoring goals at training and making big savings.”

The B’s arrived home in the wee hours of their three-game road trip Wednesday and bounced right back in Thursday’s loss to the Dallas Stars. Sports science being what it is these days, Friday could have been a day Marchand kept his 36-year-old body off the ice. But certain situations require a different course of action.

“When things don’t go your way, the only way out is to work. You have to do this together as a group,” Marchand said. “When you’re missing guys, sometimes it’s a little bit harder to have the chemistry that you need and for everyone to come through together. When you go through adversity, you want to go through it as a group and come out of it as a group. It’s great to be there, working on it as a team. That’s how you bond. When you’re going through tough times, that’s when the character comes out to your group. We see it right now. The boys had energy today, I liked our attitude. But again, it’s about doing it every day and not just one day. Something to build on.”

Also, the physique was visible. At one point, Marchand and Charlie McAvoy had a scary collision in a high-paced two-on-two. That’s part of the deal.

“It’s part of your job to be prepared when you go into practice and you’re not performing,” Marchand said. “We’re going to compete, we’re going to be physical and we’re going to play hard. You have to be ready to hit and be ready to be hit. So I think there’s just as much responsibility on the guy who gets hit as there is on the guy who gives it. You’re not trying to get to guys’ heads or knees, but part of the detailed game and our game is to be physical. That starts in practice.”

The Poitras patient

The things affecting B right now are more macro than micro. No amount of line changes will fix them. But Montgomery had an interesting change, putting Matt Poitras on the right wing to play with Marchand and Charlie Coyle. What can he bring to the line?

“His patience and the way he makes plays,” Marchand said. “He dogs the puck. (Thursday) night was a great example of that. He’s been really good lately down low and recovering pucks and making good efforts on second and third. I think this can complement our line very well.”

We’ll see if it works. He doesn’t really have much in this young season. Saturday night’s opponent was a team that has tended to cure a lot of Boston’s ills over the past decade, the Toronto Maple Leafs. But there are only so many Game 7 losses a team can take before they say enough. The Leafs should be ready to play. It better be the Bruins, too.

Tufts on waivers

In a move that was somewhat anticipated, the B’s placed Riley Tufte on waivers. Whether he clears or not, Tufte’s $775,000 salary cap hit should be enough to allow the B’s to sign veteran Tyler Johnson, who has remained with the B’s since coming into training camp with a trial contract.

Originally published: October 25, 2024 at 2:07 p.m