The reigning champs have long erased memories of their sluggish October start and now are leaving indelible images of just how good they truly are. The latest stamp was applied in Pittsburgh, where the Bruins stomped the top team in the Eastern Conference 3-1 on Monday to improve to 14-0-1 since the start of November.
"You hope it's a habit more than it's a streak," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We're trying to build those good habits. There's no reason you can't give your best every night, and I think our guys have gotten good at that. So far it's been great. It's gotten us back to where we wanted to be."
Not quite all the way to where they want to be. The Penguins still retain possession of first in the East at 16-8-4, but that position seems more temporary than ever with the Bruins now 17-7-1 and just a point behind with three games in hand.
This latest win was particularly impressive, as the Bruins went on the road and soundly beat the only team they're still looking up at in the East. And they did it despite creating a little more adversity than necessary, giving Pittsburgh two long 5-on-3 advantages during the second period. The Penguins failed to convert on both, and by the end of the night there was little doubt which team is the best in the East right now, regardless of what the standings may say.
Julien was happy with his club's effort, but wasn't ready to label this victory as a statement win just yet.
"I don't know if it was a measuring stick," Julien said. "We just thought they were a really good team that we had to play against and had to be at our best. There are a lot of good teams in this league. We get good challenges against teams like that. They started picking it up at the end, but I thought we played a real solid game. The penalty killing was outstanding, Tim [Thomas] stood tall when he had to, and 5-on-5 we found a way to score some goals.
"I think everybody was good tonight," Julien added. "We were solid in our breakouts. We took away their time and space. They're a skilled team and I thought we backchecked really well. We talked about it this morning, their attack can be pretty potent. I thought our backchecking was good tonight. We were sorting things out quickly and down low we were closing up even quicker and weren't giving them many chances to get scoring opportunities."
Julien is looking for those elements to become routine for the Bruins, and the indications of the past five weeks certainly have things trending in that direction.
"We keep playing the same way as we should and using the strong elements of our game," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said. "[We know] not to get away from it because we are up a few goals or we are playing [against] other teams. We just play the same way every team. That's the key. That's the more important thing. Confidence will come. Goals will come. If we play and stick with the way we should play, then everything else will fall into place."
Things are certainly falling right for the Bruins now, but they still feel they can be even better.
"Of course, in small ways just putting it together, playing the full 60 minutes," Thomas said. "But we're doing a lot of good things right now."
The Bruins have outscored opponents 66-27 over the course of their 15-game point streak. The idea of them getting even better has to be unsettling for the rest of the league.
"They're playing well right now," Pittsburgh defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "You can tell they have a game plan and they're very composed. They make smart plays with the puck and they put pucks into areas where they can go to work and use their strengths. … We were just chasing it all night."
Chasing the Bruins could become a habit for the rest of the NHL if the Bruins continue to sustain this level of play.
