Bruce Cassidy Says Bruins Game 3 Win Was Far From Perfect

The Boston Bruins 7-2 victory in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues was the perfect road game. The Bruins you could say were “perfect” every aspect of the game and simplified their game which allowed the top line to get back on track. Not to mention the Bruins power play went 4-for-4 with four goals on four shots. Despite all that Head Coach Bruce Cassidy believes his team did not have a “perfect” performance and can improve even more in Game 4.

“I don’t think we did everything great, to be honest with you,” Cassidy to the media on Sunday. “I think we were very opportunistic,” Cassidy told the media on Sunday. “We are happy with it don’t get me wrong, but it was far from perfect.”

Even with the score one-sided, Cassidy would like to see his team play better with the lead and not get sloppy with the puck as the Bruins gave up way too many scoring chances in the second and third periods. “But in the second period, you know, we did not manage the puck as we like. So clearly there is stuff we can work on.” Cassidy told reporters.

The Bruins made some adjustments on their breakout which allowed them to break the Blues aggressive forecheck early on which made Cassidy happy, but as he told the media “there is still certainly room to elevate our game.”

The Bruins did enough early on to get the lead and extend it. But if you look at the numbers closely, the Bruins did not bring their best road game despite being up in the series. The fourth line did not have their best game, even though that line scored two goals and was a combined plus 5. After the Sean Kuraly’s goal in the first period which made it 3-0 Bruins, that line did not register a shot on goal until Noel Acciari pocked an empty netter goal late in the third period to make it 6-2 when the game was out of hand.

“Our guys recognize that so that should be the mindset,” Cassidy told the media. “We talked about that a little bit this morning on a few video clips. Hopefully tomorrow we are better in the areas we need to better in.”

Cassidy’s comments continue a trend for the Bruins in these playoffs as that is they are never satisfied and will always strive to better than the previous game. That mindset has allowed the Bruins to advance to the Stanley Cup Final and has gotten them within two games of the Stanley Cup. While it is hard to top a 7-2 victory, if there is one team that can, it is the Bruins.

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