BRUINS SNAP FUNK IN SHOOT-OUT

The Bruins have been truly suffering from the dog days of March as of late. Four straight losses, inconsistent play, and injuries have had the Bruins stuck in a funk which has had fans, coaches, and players scratching their heads. The Bruins made some changes before Monday evening's game with the Toronto Maples. They put Brad Marchand on the first line and moved struggling forward Milan Lucic down to third line. Would Coach Julien's changes help the struggling Bruins, or would the sudden changes give rise to a fifth straight loss for Boston?

---

The Toronto Maple leafs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second period. Despite moving Brad Marchand to the struggling first line and Milan Lucic to the third line, the early results were not so pleasant for the Bruins. Boston fought back with passion in the third period. Coach Julien put Lucic back on the first line and Marchand back on the second. The return to the normal lineup helped spawn the Bruins  comeback. Milan Lucic finally scored a goal at the 9:49 mark of the second. The Bruins turned up the intensity in the third period, Dougie Hamilton saw a good amount of minutes in the final period. Hamilton rewarded the Bruins by recording a vital turnover for Boston. Patrice Bergeron tied the game at 2-2 in the third with a sick backhand shot assisted by Hamilton and Marchand. The game would end up going into a shootout to determine a winner after the final period and the five minute overtime period ended in a 2-2 tie. The Bruins were determined to get that second point in the standing, and came out with the hot hand in the shootout. Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron scored in the shootout as Boston snapped its four game funk with a crucial shootout victory. In spite of the win Coach Julian was not happy after the game. "To me, it was a gutsy effort," Julien said. "Not a pretty one, but a gutsy one. Until they scored their second goal, we weren’t really that good. I don’t think the will and desire is not there more than we’re a little heavy in our play right now. We’ve lost some speed and everything else that comes with it. So it’s a gutsy effort anyway from our part that after they scored their second goal, we got ourselves going." Julien was also concerned about fatigue with this Bruins team who has been grinding through this rigorous March schedule and cancelled the team's Tuesday practice after the win. It does not get any easier for the Bruins this week. They host the division leading Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday then travel to Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon for a matchup against the fliers.

-Joe Passarelli