Bruins Overtime: B's Need To Sharpen Mental Game

Bruins Overtime is a postgame feature providing extra news, notes and analysis from each game. Boston was defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-0, on Thursday night in Boston, MA.

The great Yogi Berra once said,"Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical." While hockey is no baseball, the same principle can be applied, as the Bruins dropped their fourth straight game to the worst team in the Eastern Conference last night.

It was the first time in Carolina franchise history that they swept the season series, keeping Boston winless though all four games. Last night, they also kept them scoreless, blanking them 3-0.

Not only that, but they have done what many other teams have failed to do repeatedly--they not only kept the Bruins from scoring in the third period, but they even scored the third goal in the third, decreasing Boston's impressive third period goal differential.

"It's one thing that we learned last year, consistency and hard work overcome a lot of things, and right now we aren't doing that," Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron said. "We're not working smart and we're not working as a team and as a unit. We know the system but were just not putting that on the ice.

"It is a bit mental, but it's just playing to our system, our skills and the best of our abilities and we aren't going to be talking about this anymore."

CAROLINA HAS BRUINS NUMBERS

Carolina improved to 4-0-0 against the Bruins this year, and swept the season series. Doing that against any team is quite the accomplishment, but against the former Stanley Cup Champions, and a team that has been doing so well this season, well the Hurricanes will take that.

"Well, yeah. I think it’s a credit to the guys when we play like that we’re capable of beating very good teams," Carolina goaltender Cam Ward said. "It’s no secret that they’re once again Stanley Cup contenders and to beat them four times is a huge compliment to our team, but we have to play every team like it’s the Boston Bruins. It seems like they bring out the best in us."

However, Bergeron said that the issue might not be in the team they are facing, but in the way that they catch themselves playing in certain games.

"Yeah I don’t think it’s about Carolina," Bergeron said. "I think it’s just about us not executing and not playing well. Yeah they are a great team, I’m not trying to take anything away from them. They are playing well, they are playing hard, they are a good team, but that being said I think the chances they got, not the chances, but the goals they got were all our fault, sorry."

SHUT OUT AT HOME

Last night's loss marked just the third time this season the Bruins have not scored at least one goal. The other two were against Colorado (1-0) and the Florida Panthers (2-0). All three shutouts were at TD Garden.That 3-0 win was Cam Ward's third shutout of the seasons and his third career shutout against the Bruins.

UP NEXT:

The Bruins stay at home and have a chance to put their words into practice on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 1 p.m. in front of the Bruins faithful. Claude Julien hopes to keep the frustration out of the locker room and set the team back on course.

"You know, when you’re playing the way they’re playing, guys get frustrated, and we saw that at the beginning of the year," Julien said. "We’re not playing very smart right now, and we’re certainly not competing the way we should be competing. I guess, as a coach, you’ve got to find ways to solve that, but at the same time, the answer still remains in the dressing room, too. They’ve got to kind of do their share because we certainly can’t play for them. But we’re certainly going to work on that and getting our competitive edge back up to where it should be."

For more Boston Bruins coverage, visit our team page and blog, Stanley Cup Of Chowder.

Bruins Vs. Hurricanes Final Score: B's Can't Figure Out 'Canes; Get Blanked 3-0

There's something to be said about a team that holds last place in the Conference, but can still make history against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.

And for the Bruins, their something is too inappropriate to repeat.

The B's have seen all sorts of talent so far this year, and dozens of teams that have tried to derail them and failed, and yet this one Carolina team is like an annoying mosquito that they keep trying to slap, but end up looking foolish when the mosquito flies away.

And after four games, the mosquito is the one that's laughing.

Though the Bruins finished the night with 47 shots on net--22 in the first period-- none of them found the back of the net, and the B's defense broke down too many times to keep the puck out of their own net.

Eric Staal netted the first goal for the Hurricanes, a little more than halfway through the first period. Johnny Boychuk fell to the ground after he drove himself into the butt end of his stick that was stuck in the boards. He said he "felt like a shish kabob," but he was fine to come out and play again in the second period.

However, in the meantime, Jiri Tlusty found Staal set up out in front of the net, and his pass connected with him and into the back of the net to make it 1-0 at the end of the first period.

The woes just piled up from there, and after peppering Cam Ward with shots in the first, they put up a measly five shots in the second period, while Carolina took 14. Of those 14, Tuomo Ruutu was able to net one, putting the Hurricanes up 2-0 with less than four minutes to go in the second.

"Yeah, I thought that, especially in the first, we had close to 22 shots," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said. "But, like I said, we didn’t follow up on that same first 20 [minutes] in the second 20. We were just not there. Then again, the second 20 we had maybe four, five or six shots. So the two extremes. That’s not good enough and for the most part, and yeah, [Cam Ward] saw most of [the shots]."

Then again in the third, Boston tried to take back the momentum, taking another 20 shots on net, but the third period magic wasn't there tonight. In fact, Carolina managed to score a third goal on them, Brandon Sutter's 12th of the season to seal the deal 3-0.

This is the first time in Carolina's history that they have swept the Bruins in the season series--as the last team in the Conference no less. However, according to Shawn Thornton, the solution is easy, and they aren't letting frustration creep into the locker room just yet.

"It’s just hard work – it’s simple," Thornton said. "Show up. We need all 23 guys showing up and working hard and playing with a bit of an edge and not going over it – that’s when we’re successful. We should know that by now. If we have any passengers, then we’re not successful."

Head coach Claude Julien agreed.

"Absolutely. You’ve got players in the back end doing too much and caught up the ice, and same thing," Julien said. "We’ve got some forwards that are not very good at covering up or giving a second layer because we’re not working hard enough. Same thing. All your questions are going to relate to the same thing. It’s pretty obviously where our issues are."

Bruins Vs. Hurricanes Score Update: B's Take 22 Shots, But Down 1-0

The Bruins certainly left their mark, or marks, on Carolina netminder Cam Ward, after peppering him with 22 shots through 20 minutes, but the Hurricanes left the ice with the 1-0 lead.

Eric Staal found the back of the net after watching Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk get run into the boards. Boychuk went down immediately with what looked like an arm or wrist injury. Jiri Tlusty took the puck and skated behind the net and ultimately found Staal out front for the goal.

Carolina put eight shots on net and stuck with the Bruins for the better part of the period.

Boychuk left the ice and went back to the locker room and did not return for the rest of the period. This was the first game back where the Bruins had all their defenseman in the lineup.

Bruins forward Chris Kelly had a team high three shots on net and only three Bruins were left off the shot list: Zach Hamill, David Krejci and Joe Corvo.

Bruins Vs. Hurricanes Preview: TV/Radio Info, Time, Location And More

Event: Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Date/Time: Thursday, February 2, 2012 - 7 p.m. EDT.
Location: TD Garden (Capacity: 17,565), Boston, MA.
Broadcast Info: Thursday's game between the Bruins and the Hurricanes will be broadcast live on NESN and the NHL Network. The game can also be heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with Dave Goucher providing play-by-play, and Bob Beers providing analysis.

Last Time Out: The Bruins pulled off some more third period heroics again on Tuesday, scoring two unanswered goals in the final frame to give them a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Dennis Seidenberg had the game winning goal, and a memorable one at that, taking the shot from the red line and managing to get it in past Craig Anderson. Also scoring for the Bruins were Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand.

Tim Thomas notched another win and had 30 saves on the night against a team that bombarded him with 13 shots in the second period alone.

On the other side, the Carolina Hurricanes managed to tie their game up on Tuesday, 2-2 less than seven minutes into the third period. After the Islanders took a 2-0 lead, it looked like Carolina was going to come back and sneak away with two points. However, New York found three more goals in the period--two of them with an empty net--and the ‘Canes fell 5-2.

Brandon Sutter and Tim Brent each netted a goal for Carolina, and netminder Cam Ward had 21 saves on 24 shots.

Storyline: Even with the successes of Boston and the trials and tribulations of the Hurricanes, Carolina finds itself on the brink of making history. They currently hold a 3-0-0 season series lead over the Bruins, and, if they were to win tonight, would sweep it completely, marking it as the first time in franchise history to accomplish that feat.

What would make it more impressive is that the Bruins currently hold second place in the Eastern Conference, and the Hurricanes sit in dead last.

Tim Thomas has lost two of the three games they have played against each other this season, while Tuukka Rask has fallen victim to the other. Rask will most likely be in net tonight after Thomas’ start on Tuesday, and will have the chance to keep Carolina at bay.
In the three meetings, the Bruins have only scored a total of five goals, while being outscored 11-5.

Players To Watch:
There have been a couple of key players for Carolina when they face off against the Bruins. Anthony Stewart, Joni Pitkanen, Brandon Sutter and Eric Staal all seem to make the score sheet whenever they meet, so definitely keep eyes on them.

Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference will be back in the lineup tonight after serving his three game suspension. Adam McQuaid should also be in the lineup after suffering a lower body injury, putting the defensive pairings back to their usual state.

However, forward Nathan Horton will not be in the lineup again, still suffering from his mild concussion.

Prediction: If the Bruins don’t want to come out on the wrong side of history tonight, they will have to find a way past this team that seems to have their numbers. It will be a close one, but Bruins will come out on top. Final Score: Bruins 3, Hurricanes 2.

For more Boston Bruins coverage, visit our team page and blog, Stanley Cup Of Chowder.

Bruins Vs. Hurricanes: B's On Brink Of Getting Swept Up By Hurricanes

Despite their last place ranking in the Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes have left Boston scratching their heads and will look to sweep the season series for the first time in franchise history.