TORONTO, ONTARIO – Claude Julien wasn’t particularly pleased with what he saw out of his Bruins hockey club on Saturday night in Toronto.
The Bruins gave up a goal little more than two minutes into the game, and gave up another two goals in a 77-second span later on in the first period en route to a 4-1 loss at the Air Canada Centre. Some of it was on goaltender Anton Khudobin playing in place of Tuukka Rask after he tweaked something in Columbus, and giving up three goals on the first seven shots he faced.
Some of it was on second-year defenseman Colin Miller, who couldn’t clear a puck out of the slot area on the first goal allowed of the night and then failed to execute on an ill-advised diving, sweeping poke check on James van Riemsdyk prior to the Leafs third goal of the evening. Beyond that there were few players that enjoyed good nights for the Black and Gold in a loss where the B’s didn’t seem ready to play out of the starting gate. That was troubling to the B’s bench boss.
“There were times that I felt certain individuals weren’t focused enough,” Julien lamented after the loss. “There were plenty of examples for me to show these guys. We need to be a little more focused, sometimes as a team, but more as individuals. It just takes one weak link to really throw everything off. We need guys to get some better focus there.”
It wasn't exactly a scathing indictment of the B's players from the coach at this early point in the season, but more a warning shot that healthy scratches could be coming if the focus issues persist. Zdeno Chara agreed with his coach’s assessment following the game, but also acknowledged that things are going to be a little difficult for the Black and Gold as long as Patrice Bergeron is missing from the lineup.
“I think we need to have everybody going in the same direction, and five guys on the ice being on the same page,” said Chara. “We had that at times, but obviously for most of the game we didn’t. We need to improve that part of our game.”
The Bruins will get one more chance on this road trip to clear up that focus problem, and potentially make it a winning road swing when they amble into Winnipeg on Monday night for their only visit of the season to the Jets.