Defending champ Bruins off to slow start
If any team understands the scrutiny the Boston Bruins are under — or could be facing in the weeks ahead — it's the Blackhawks.
It's only four games into the regular season, but the defending champion Bruins are off to a 1-3 start heading into Saturday's game against the Hawks at the United Center and already being asked about a potential Stanley Cup hangover.
The Hawks know the drill.
They started poorly last season following their Stanley Cup win and never really snapped out of their funk until the first round of the playoffs when they took Vancouver to overtime in the seventh game before losing.
There were a number of factors involved in the Hawks' situation last season, the biggest being the dramatic turnover of half the roster because of salary-cap issues.
The Bruins lost only three regulars from their Cup roster in defenseman Tomas Kaberle and forwards Mark Recchi and Michael Ryder while adding defenseman Joe Corvo.
“People like to talk about hangovers and stuff, but we lost nine or 10 guys off our team last year,” Hawks center Patrick Kane said. “They haven't lost many and seem like they've made some improvements with guys like Corvo. If anything they're as good as last year, especially with guys like Tim Thomas and (Zdeno) Chare and their core guys. They seem to be in pretty good shape.”
Not only did the Hawks' roster change drastically after winning the Cup, the target on their back became bigger.
“We certainly know what they're going through,” Hawks winger Patrick Sharp said. “They're going to get every opponent's best effort all the time. That opening night in Boston (a 2-1 loss to Philadelphia), with the banner raising and all that, there's a lot of emotions, but they're a great team.
“I'm sure they'll figure it out, just hopefully not (Saturday).”
Sharp said the Hawks have moved on from last season when asked if the Stanley Cup hangover was real.
“Personally, I didn't have a problem with the short summer,” Sharp said. “I felt good coming back and was excited to play hockey again. As a team, I'm not sure. I can't really speak to what's going on over there. I know what we went through last year was more of a season-long thing than a quick hangover in October.
“It took us a while to kind of build that chemistry together and feel comfortable. Not so much in the room and off the ice, but positionally and line combinations and all that.”
The Bruins come to town hoping that facing another elite team such as the Hawks will get them started in the right direction.
“I know their team went through a lot of what we're going through now,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “Certainly, for a lot of people, it seems unavoidable. But we don't want to be accepting that. We want to be the exception to the rule and battle our way out of it.”
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville shared a ride with Julian at the draft in June but said the two never spoke of the pitfalls that can occur after winning the Cup.
“They've had some injuries and have been busy,” Quenneville said. “They're still a dangerous team. There's a lot of good things on their team that made them successful that we're going to have to be concerned with.
“Teams are ready for you coming off that type of season. Obviously they're a proud bunch and you don't want to get too far in the hole right off the bat. We felt last year our start really put us in a tough spot all year long.”