Different team, same Julien
Coach blunt regarding Habs’ struggles
Bruins fans certainly don’t care much about the trials and tribulations of the Canadiens, other, of course, than to delight in the mediocrity with which the Habs are performing this season, and the likelihood that there will be no playoffs this spring at the Bell Centre.
BRUINS BEAT Stephen Harris
But Bruins fans ought to be fascinated by the postgame comments from Claude Julien, after his first homecoming to the Garden since coaching the B’s for 91⁄2 largely successful seasons turned out to be such a total flop for Les Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.
The Canadiens proved little competition for the streaking Bruins, who beat them for the second time in five nights, 4-1.
Julien’s remarks reminded us, one and all, just how great his analysis of this game can be.
“We weren’t in it from the get-go, probably the first five minutes,” said Julien. “We had been playing good hockey; the last 4-5 games were good. (Last night), we laid an egg.
“(It was) not good enough. Obviously it’s a disappointing loss for us, especially in the situation we’re in. We didn’t play well. It’s as simple as that.”
He heard a fairly blunt question from the Montreal press corps, and he didn’t duck it: Given the importance of this game and tough predicament the team faces, have some players quit?
“Well, I think that question is one you guys need to ask the players, not the coach,” he said. “I can’t answer for them. It’s important for you guys to ask the right people. That’s part of your job. My job is to tell you we weren’t good enough and we need to be better.
“That’s my responsibility. I need to get this team to play better. No matter what they’re thinking, they need to change their approach if that’s the case.
“We need to believe in ourselves. If you don’t believe, there’s no way in the world you’re going to get an opportunity or a chance. When you’ve got the kind of goaltender you have (in Carey Price) that’s going give you a chance every night and say, ‘You know what? Good things can happen if we decide to work together, work well, be on the same page.’ ”
Midway through the first period, the Bruins ran a nice video remembrance and tribute to their ex-coach on the Jumbotron. After, he waved and the fans gave him a very good ovation. It wasn’t easy for him, he said.
“It’s always something that you kind of dread a little bit, because it does get a little emotional,” said Julien. “At the same time, you’re trying to keep your emotions intact because you’re trying to coach a game.
“I appreciate what they did for me. As I’ve said, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about this organization that gave me the opportunity to spend 10 years here.
“I’m kind of happy (my homecoming is) over, so we can move on now. But that doesn’t mean you can ever forget what’s happened here. It’d always going to be with you. But now I’m in another chapter of my coaching career.”
While the Bruins have prospered under Bruce Cassidy, Julien’s Canadiens are a squad fraught with problems and a longshot, as we head in the season’s second half, to make the playoffs.
The woes are not of Julien’s making. The club had a rough offseason, as longtime defenseman Andrei Markov turned down a new contract and opted to return to Russia to play. And big and talented forward Alexander Radulov also spurned the Habs, turning down their UFA offer to sign instead with the Dallas Stars.
Those walkouts left two glaring holes in the Montreal roster and have left Julien, not for the first time in his career, forced to try and coach up a club lacking key pieces.
Coaching a divisional foe, Julien is well aware of the infusion of youthful talent that is transforming the Bruins. He was asked whether he might have kept his job if the kids had arrived a year or two earlier.
“All I know is there’s a lot of new faces here and a lot of faces that are gone that would deal with me,” Julien said. “So, that’s just the team that was rebuilt, and that’s what they’ve done. They’ve rebuilt, and they gave some young players some time to develop in the minors, and those guys are paying off right now.”