Recchi doesn’t see everybody there

After another frustrating home loss and the Bruins’ second straight game without a regulation goal, B’s coach Claude Julien and team leader Mark Recchi openly questioned the team’s desire and heart.

“We have to find ways to win these games,” Recchi said. “We did in New Jersey because we had everyone in. Tonight, we didn’t have everybody there, so the results are there.”

Julien added that he was frustrated to see the team’s best shooter, Michael Ryder, finish with zero shots on goal. “There’s no doubt we have some players who could’ve been much better for us tonight,” Julien said. “Ryder is probably our best shooter and ends up with zero shots. Those are the things we needed from those players.”

After the game, Julien said the ‘push’ has to come from within the dressing room.

And at 42 years young, it was Recchi pushing the hardest.

“We had a lot of good chances and we just didn’t score,” Recchi said. “I mean, we can’t ask for much more, effort-wise. I still don’t think we had 20 guys tonight, but you know, the guys that were going were generating a lot of opportunities and you got to put those in. We need – like I said, this time of year, you need 20 guys, regardless, so that’s a little bit of a disappointment, but we definitely controlled the game and played the right way and we should have won this one.”

Recchi saw a Florida Panthers team that, while not in the playoff chase, would come in and play a conservative, hard-checking style. And, when the visitors went up, 1-0, in the first period, that’s exactly what the Bruins got.

“They played hard,” Recchi said. “We knew they were going to play hard. I mean, we’ve had some tough games against them this year and, you know, if anybody watches the games and I don’t know, I’m not sure how many guys do, but they play hard. They compete. They haven’t quit. They’ve got some young players that want to play well and you know, they’ve got some, obviously some leaders over there who are not letting those young guys quit and I don’t know if we underestimated them or not, but this time of year, I don’t think you should underestimate anybody.

“I’ve been on the other end where you’re spoiling opportunities and there’s nothing more enjoyable when you know you’re five games away from the end of the season and if you can hurt somebody’s chances of making the playoffs, that’s what you play for and that’s what those guys are playing for right now.”

Recchi was trying so hard on the ice, he thought he was rewarded midway through the second period when he re-directed a shot and raised his stick a bit prematurely, almost willing the puck in the net when nothing else was working.

“Yeah, I thought it went in, but obviously, it didn’t, but yeah, I thought it went in,” Recchi admitted. “We had a lot of good opportunities. Their goalie [Scott Clemmensen] made some good saves. You’ve got to give him some credit too, but, you know, a lot of pucks – he’s a big kid and he played big, and a lot of pucks hit him and we weren’t able to capitalize.”

But again, it comes down to having everyone in and Recchi made it clear Thursday night that, with just five games left, that’s something he expects.

“In a game like this, if you have 20 guys, we don’t lose, and we still miss,” he said. “[In] New Jersey, we had 20 guys, and we win. It’s no secret this time of year. The teams that have guys that are – and we talked about this after the last game – you might not feel good, but this time of year, chances are you don’t feel great but, you know, you have to dig deep down and do it for your teammates, do it for yourself. You have to find ways.

“If you’re a goal scorer and you’re not scoring goals, you got to be physical; and you got to play great defensively, and if you’re a physical guy, then you know, you got to chip in at times, so there’s a whole bunch of factors that play into this and I think we have to, with five games remaining, I think we shouldn’t have to be talking about it, but the results are there. [If] we don’t have 20 guys, we don’t win, and [if] we do, we win.”