The Bruins weren’t planning on Brad Marchand being available Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets. And Marchand, after taking a nasty hit into the boards and injuring his right shoulder in a win Thursday over the Washington Capitals, didn’t want to step on the ice if he wasn’t going to be able to contribute.
But bouncing back quickly has been a part of the Bruins’ identity this season.
Marchand worked 22 shifts over 19 minutes, walking the thin line between hurt and injured because he didn’t want to let the locker room down by sitting out.
“It sends a message to the rest of the group that, hey, I’m here and battling with you until they tell me I can’t,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. “And I think guys appreciate that.”
Marchand helped the Bruins pick up their second straight win. They beat Winnipeg the same way they beat the Capitals, finishing them off in the third period. Closing out two tough teams was important for the Bruins, particularly after falling to the Carolina Hurricanes earlier in the week.
“We obviously didn’t have a great game against Carolina,” Marchand said. “It was one of those games where everything kind of went their way. By no means did we play good, but they got a lot of good bounces as well -- not to take anything away from them, they’re a good team.
“I think that the last couple of games -- except for the first period [against Winnipeg] -- we’ve played some pretty good hockey. Boring at times, which is typically winning hockey for our group. And we’ve been resilient. When things haven’t really gone our way, we’ve found ways to battle back and respond in certain situations, which is what you need if you want to go deep in the playoffs and you want to make a good run.”
No team in the NHL has responded to losses like the Bruins this season. They’re 9-3 after losses and they’re the only team in the NHL that hasn’t lost more than two consecutive games.
“I think our team just understands that there’s there’s a standard here,” said Nick Foligno. “So when we have a loss, we’re a team that can kind of rebound quick because we recognize and realize what we did wrong and work the next game to rectify it.
“So I think that’s the maturity of this group, the leadership of this group, and the standard of the Boston Bruins. It’s fun to be a part of and guys buy into that. So I think that’s why you see us more times than not come back with an answer game.”
Typically, the Bruins have responded to losses this season with wins in bunches. After losing to the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 11, they won three straight. Before the season went on hiatus in December, they took back-to-back losses to the Vegas Golden Knights and the New York Islanders. They returned in January and won three straight again. After losing to the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 6, they put together their longest winning streak of the season, a run of five games.
“We’re competitors,” Cassidy said. “We’re a hard-working team, we compete. We still have to learn how to play intelligent hockey at the right times. That’s still a process that every team goes through throughout the year.”
Since the reset at the New Year, the Bruins have won 10 of 12 games.
“I don’t think it’s one thing that you could point out,” Connor Clifton said. “It’s could be a number of things. Maybe the rest helped, staying fresh. Obviously, our schedule now is pretty hectic and we’re kind of in a rhythm here of playing every other day at least. So we’re just going to take that in stride and focus on each day.”
Over that stretch, the Bruins have been able to stack up wins at the Garden, going 7-2 at home. They host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday to close out a seven-game homestand before heading on a three-game road trip starting Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.
“You’ve got to take advantage of those opportunities and that schedule as it presents itself like that,” Clifton said. “We’ve been home for a bit, I think we get one more here, so I think we want to take advantage and beat a good team at home in our own building. You want teams to come in here and know how well we play and make it a tough game every time someone comes into the building. You want to be a great home team and we’ve done that as of late.”
In a season of starts, stops, injuries, protocols, and suspensions, the Bruins have found ways to keep losses from piling up.
“I think we know how to play winning hockey over the years here,” Cassidy said. “So you’ve got the guys that have been here and done it and now the guys that are new to us are understanding what the expectation is, how we’re going to play and how you help each other win.”
Panthers - four games
Lightning -- three games
Maple Leafs -- four games
Bruins -- two games
Red Wings -- four games
Buffalo -- seven games
Senators -- six games
Canadiens -- seven games
Rangers -- three games
Hurricanes -- three games
Penguins -- three games
Capitals -- four games
Blue Jackets -- four games
Devils -- six games
Islanders -- 11 games
Flyers -- 11 games
Avalanche -- three games
Predators -- four games
Blues -- four games
Wild -- five games
Stars -- five games
Jets -- five games
Blackhawks -- nine games
Coyotes -- 11 games
Golden Knights -- four games
Ducks -- six games
Kings -- six
Sharks -- three games
Flames -- four games
Oilers -- seven games
Canucks -- five games
Kraken -- nine games