Team wake-up call works wonders for Bruins

BOSTON — The Bruins looked like two different teams in Game 2 on Saturday — the one that let the Blackhawks do whatever they wanted to in the first period, then the one that dominated the second and third periods and most of overtime.

“I don’t think there’s an explanation,” Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said. “I think it was just us not being mentally ready. I wish we had one, so we won’t do it next game. Again, not being mentally ready is the only thing to think about. It happened, and we just have to be ready from the first minute in the next game.”

There were some frank “discussions” in the Boston dressing room after the first period in which they were outshot 19-4 but trailed just 1-0.

“You got to pick the moments and pick the spots to yell at guys, and you’ve got to respond,” Seidenberg said. “We got to be honest with each other. We all knew it wasn’t our best period. We’re man enough or grown up enough to tell each other what to do better and to play better and that’s what we did. We figured it out halfway through the second period.”

Was there yelling?

“Not really yelling,” Seidenberg said. “Just telling guys they have to be better. We all knew we weren’t playing well. Nobody likes to hear that, but it needs to be said once in a while.”

Bruins forward Tyler Seguin called it a team wake-up call. Interestingly, Seguin was wearing a microphone for the game but made sure he hid it between the first and second periods.

“I definitely knew it was coming, so I threw my shoulder pads in the training room and put a towel over it so no one could hear what we were saying,” Seguin said. “I think we needed that team wake-up call.

“It was really a mix of everybody saying something. I think Kells (Chris Kelly) was one of the most vocal guys at the time. But in the end, I think it was a mix of everyone.”

Bruins coach Claude Julien couldn’t remember the last time his team played a period like the first on Saturday.

“I don’t think our team has played a bad first period like that in a long time,” Julien said. “I don’t expect it to happen again.

“We’re back in our building where we have our fans. I think our guys are going to be excited about that. Nonetheless, we have to have a better start. You learn from past mistakes. That’s a mistake I think our team hopefully has learned.”