Claude Julien Hopes Shaking Up Lines Leads to Reliable Scoring

by abournenesn

Nov 3, 2009

Claude Julien Hopes Shaking Up Lines Leads to Reliable Scoring DETROIT — For a hockey goaltender, losing a low-scoring shutout might compare closest to when a pitcher has a near-perfect outing but the bats just aren't there. What does the pitcher do? Just exercise patience? Understanding? What more can be done?

"I've never been a pitcher," Tim Thomas said as I asked him to consider the analogy and say if it applies to this scenario.

After pondering it some more, he continued.

"If I was a pitcher, I'd know the guys are trying to score. It wasn't a lack of effort."

Of course, the Bruins also could go through the opposite scenario, where the goaltenders have issues finding their games, and the skaters must squeak out high-scoring, 6-5-type wins. Realistically, each player will go through his version of ups and downs and in the end, it all should, theoretically, even out.

But for head coach Claude Julien, it is not a wait-and-see game, and he was quick to make a change after their scoring bottomed out in the Bruins' 1-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday.

"Our top players have to score," Julien has said repeatedly in the past week.

In hopes of igniting Boston's currently dormant offense, he put the lines through a major shuffle for the first time on practice day before the Detroit game. Patrice Bergeron was reunited with Marco Sturm, an effective combination brought back from years past. David Krejci moved back alongside Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder — a once-reliable unit that produced consistent offense last season. And Vladimir Sobotka, Brad Marchand and Daniel Paille were put together to form a new, young, gritty line.

Who knows how long the combinations will last this time, but like anything in deep sleep, maybe it takes a good hard shaking to wake the scoring up.

"We're playing well enough to win," Julien said. "There's no reason why we shouldn't be winning more games than we are. It's just a matter of hopefully finding the right mix to help us get out of this funk."

In the meantime, the goaltenders are going about their business, and as long as they do, it is one less puzzle for Julien to have to figure out.

****

On a completely different note, we are in Michigan, home state of Thomas and Matt Hunwick.

Joe Louis Arena is brilliantly decorated to celebrate Detroit's rich hockey history. It has everything in the halls, from a larger-than-life statue of Gordie Howe in action, to columns adorned with painted-on photographs of Stanley Cup-winning players. The building is old in the coolest way — simple painted steel stairs in the arena aisles, box seats way up high, shades of red everywhere, and a sea of various championship banners hanging (and practically covering) the ceiling.

Thomas remembers playing in a Mites tourney at the arena "29 years ago," while Hunwick recalls Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) championship games and more.

On the ice level floor, there are painted logos of the college emblems (Michigan, Michigan State, etc.) on one wall, while the opposite side lists names of Red Wings greats. The font of the signs on the walls looks like a mix of stencil and hand painting, a style so bold and old school it makes you actually pay attention to what each one says.

To complete the coolness, the Red Wings engage in a cookout with arena staff several times a month after practice at the rink. When we were there on Monday, they had a huge grill going with a nice spread, just near the parking area right next to the security entrance.

Part of the marvel comes from the fact that the Red Wings are an Original Six team deep in history, but it's also a rarity that the Bruins visit this joint. Both Hunwick and Thomas are expected to host a large gathering of family and friends at the game Tuesday. For Thomas, this is just his second regular-season game at The Joe (he played here three years ago), and for Hunwick, it is his first regular season game — he played in a preseason game here last year.

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