BOSTON -- The Bruins have practiced and held morning skates at their new Warrior Ice Arena training facility all season, so it was a little different for them to practice at TD Garden on Friday morning. They did it because they were taking their team picture at the Garden, but it was also appropriate considering how they’ve turned things around on home ice.
The Bruins were 12-13-0 at TD Garden this season before the coaching change, and one even wondered if holding all their home practices away from the Garden might be having a negative impact. The fans booed the hometown team in the last few depressing losses, and there was no snap, or energy, or mojo, to the way they played on Causeway Street. It was the same story last year, when they were 25-13-3 -- the fourth-best road record in the league -- away from the Garden, but a 23rd-best 17-18-6 at home.
But since Bruce Cassidy took over as coach, the B's have won six of seven in Boston. And outscored their opponents by an impressive 30-12 margin.
“About three weeks ago I stood up here and said our urgency in this building has to improve,” said Cassidy. “If you start [games] well, then it can snowball for you. And it can go the other way for the other team if they start from behind.”
Those quick starts have signaled a turnaround that’s made the Bruins a much better product on home ice for the organization, the fans and everybody involved with the business of the team.
“When you get a few games in a row where you get the wins and you play well, it builds some confidence and that’s obviously what’s been lacking at home,” said Patrice Bergeron. “It becomes almost a vicious cycle, and we’re glad to be out of that at home and realizing that we can be a good team.
“We have to be a good team at home in order to have success, and now we have a lot more home games in his last stretch. So it’s even going to be more important to be good at home. After gaining that confidence at home I think we’ve just kept the ball rolling.”
Boston Bruins
Better performance on home ice is a must for the Bruins, who play 9 of their final 15 games at the Garden and finish the regular season with home dates against Tampa Bay, Ottawa and Washington. So the last seven games are an encouraging sign, but the job isn’t even close to done.