Bruce Cassidy Wants Sixty-Minute Effort Against Lightning, Capitals

A full 60-minute effort is what Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy is expecting from his team Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Sunday against the Washington Capitals. The message is clear, as the Bruins put on a strong opening twenty minutes against the Philadelphia Flyers last Sunday, but dwindled the remainder of the game.

“60 minutes of Bruins hockey, 65 if needed,” said Cassidy. “Hopefully that results in a win. We are looking for that 60-minute effort.”

Concluding Sunday’s game, Cassidy mentioned that breakdowns with the puck, puck management, and the lack of execution under pressure is what contributed to the fall-apart in the second period.

However, Cassidy expects to see a different result Wednesday night.

“To build off what is going to make us play our 60 minutes, our puck management has to improve,” said Cassidy. “Not shooting ourselves in the foot, [and] taking the plays that are there. Offensively, we to generate more. Some of that will be a shot-mentality. Some of that will be shaking the rust off. [And], some of that is having a little more purpose in our game. Willing to attack the net [and] executing better all over the ice, I think is what we are looking for.”

Individual effort is another area that Cassidy hopes to see an improvement.

“This will be our third game,” added Cassidy. “By then you hope the players have started to regain their individual skill level. Let’s see our execution improve, [and] let’s see our puck management improve.”

Against Tampa Bay, Cassidy has mentioned that it is going to be a very physical and competitive game.

“I think the passion will be there,” said Cassidy. “Tampa and us always have solid games, so hopefully that alone will make us better.”

During the regular season, the Bruins and Lightning met four times. Boston is 1-2-1 in those games.