"Our energy is what got us to where we are in the standings," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after his club's 5-3 loss to the Capitals. "That lack of energy right now and commitment and the decisions we made out on the ice are decisions of not [being] mentally sharp. So hopefully these next five days will give the guys a chance to think about it, get their rest, refocus and come back strong."
The Capitals were playing without their top two forwards with Alexander Ovechkin suspended and Nicklas Backstrom sidelined with a concussion, while their No. 1 defenseman Mike Green is also out after undergoing abdominal surgery.
The Bruins were without forward Nathan Horton with a mild concussion of his own and defenseman Andrew Ference, who was serving the second game of a three-game suspension. But Boston has prided itself on its depth and work ethic, and should have been able to withstand those short-term losses and at least delivered a more complete effort.
Instead, the Bruins were guilty of a number of costly miscues and were out-worked, out-battled and out-hit for most of the night. The hit stat is far from perfect with the inconsistency of the record-keeping from building to building in the NHL, but Washington's 30-16 edge in hits is definitely an indication of a lack of energy, emotion and effort for stretches of this contest.
The break may help with that, as the Bruins — other than Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas, Tyler Seguin and the coaching staff who will participate in the All-Star Game in Ottawa — will have some time to rest and refocus before returning to action when Ottawa comes to Boston next Tuesday.
Even though he won't get any time off himself, as he'll be coaching Team Chara in Ottawa, Julien believes this break comes at just the right time for the Bruins.
"I think it has to be," Julien said. "Right now the way we're playing, we lack energy. And there's no excuse. Our schedule hasn't been any harder than anybody else. If anything, we've been a little spoiled in the first half of the year being at home, so I think it's more of a midseason lull that a lot of teams go through. After the all-Star break usually you're down to 30-some games and you start gearing up for the playoffs as far as where you want to be in the standings. Games seem to mean a lot more and it really ends up going fast. So hopefully we have the right attitude going into that last portion of the season."
The break will also give the Bruins a chance to escape the controversy surrounding Thomas' boycott of the White House on Monday. Other than a statement on his Facebook page, Thomas, who did not play on Tuesday, has not spoken publicly about the decision to skip the celebration of last year's Cup championship with his teammates and the president. But those teammates have been left to field questions about the controversy and how it may affect the team, though they weren't using that potential distraction as an excuse for their performance on Tuesday.
"I don't think [Monday] was an issue at all," Patrice Bergeron said. "We were ready for this game, but we can't just be up and down like we were tonight. We're not going to get the results that we want. We said before the game that this was a huge game for them. Depending on what Florida did, they might be third [in the conference] right now. So we knew it was going to be an important game for them and we had to make sure we matched that desperation. We didn't do it."
When the Bruins return, they'll have just 35 games remaining, and they'll need to play with plenty of desperation themselves to put them in the position they seek heading into the playoffs and perhaps a even earn a return trip to the White House next year.
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