Patrice Bergeron Shares Message In Bruins Dressing Room Before Third Period

BOSTON — There was a very clear shift in the Boston Bruins’ play from the end of the second period to the beginning of the third Thursday night.

The Bruins had turned in an uninspired second period in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, and found themselves trailing 2-1 as a result. But they stormed out of the dressing room to begin the third, scoring two goals 28 seconds apart to take the lead just 2:54 into the period. They wouldn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the way, adding a pair more to earn the 5-2 victory.

So, something certainly must’ve been said in the room during the second intermission, right?

Without getting into complete specifics, alternate captain Patrice Bergeron described the message being spread during the break.

“I think we needed to execute, be better, compete a little better,” Bergeron said. “But that being said, I think there’s also a side of it where you can’t panic and you need to stay with it and realize that we’ve been – even though it wasn’t our best, we’re still a shot away from tying the game. So that’s kind of what’s being said, but we definitely needed to be a lot better and, you know, they’re a good team, they did a lot of good things and they’re tough to play.”

The message indeed was received, and it gave the Bruins a lot of momentum heading into Sunday’s Game 2.