RALEIGH, N.C. - There was no practice for the Bruins yesterday, a day after Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Hurricanes in Game 3 at the RBC Center. No meetings. No video work. Coach Claude Julien gave his players the day off with the hope that time away from the rink will help shake the Bruins from their two-game slide.
"That's what this whole day off is about," Julien said. "It's taking a step back. Let's regroup here and go back to playing the type of game we know we can play."
The Bruins claimed a 4-1 win in Game 1, capitalizing on Carolina's giveaways and cross-ice turnovers. Since then, the Bruins haven't belonged in the same rink as the Hurricanes, save for a 16-shot third period in Game 2's 3-0 shutout loss.
On Wednesday, the Hurricanes assaulted Tim Thomas with 41 shots and missed 17 more. At the other end, the Bruins bothered Cam Ward with only 23 shots, most of the meek and polite variety that the goalie was able to see and stop.
But for all their shortcomings, the Bruins still had their chance to snatch Game 3 when Marc Savard and Milan Lucic had high-quality scoring chances early in overtime.
"We're not in trouble," Julien said. "We're in a series, a hard-fought series. What we have to do is get our game going in the right direction, which means a commitment to outworking the other team and a commitment to making better decisions. Again, it's a mind-set. We've struggled the last couple games, but there's ups and downs to a season. You win a game, you're Stanley Cup contenders. You lose one, you're in trouble. That's what you have to face every day. We just have to keep our focus on what we have to do, believe in ourselves, and go out and do it. We're very capable of doing that."
So it comes down to this: Perhaps the Bruins' biggest test is tonight, when the Hurricanes could grab control of the series and force the Bruins to win three straight games.
"We've got to be sharper in all areas," said Savard by phone yesterday. "Hopefully today's day off will clear our heads and get everybody focused. Obviously we need Game 4."
Despite Boston's disappointing effort in Game 3, the Hurricanes know how dangerous the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference can be. Coach Paul Maurice has seen his players get the better of the Bruins for most of the last two games. But he knows he hasn't uncovered a fatal flaw in the Bruins. In Maurice's mind, the Bruins don't have one.
