Video: Bruce Cassidy gave the Bruins an expletive-filled locker room speech
"Wake the f*** up."
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are no time for self-censorship.
The Bruins and Blue Jackets were tied at a game apiece entering Game 3 on Tuesday. Columbus burst out to a two-goal lead, before Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk squeezed the puck over the line in the last minute of the second period to draw Boston within one heading into the final third.
Bruce Cassidy made sure his team was aware of the importance of the moment. In the locker room, the Bruins head coach addressed the recuperating players.
“We come to a time during that period where we have to decide if we’re gonna push through,” Cassidy said, as captured by ESPN. “This is last year all over again. We play against a heavier team. We decide maybe I don’t wanna — I don’t want to — whatever.
“Wake the f*** up. Alright. Play the f****** game the right way. It’s hard. It hurts to win. We’ve been through that 100 times. That’s life in April and May. Let’s go win this thing men. Come on.”
Playoff hockey intensity is 📈📈📈
Quest for the Stanley Cup has the inside look at teams’ journeys, exclusively on ESPN+ ➡️ https://t.co/oPiIeV9Gor pic.twitter.com/nHI08R69NA
— ESPN (@espn) May 3, 2019
Although Boston could not convert another goal and dropped Game 3, the Bruins equalized the second-round series with a 4-1 win on Thursday.
Both team’s head coaches are employing colorful language to pump up their squads. Before puck drop Tuesday, Columbus head coach John Tortorella recognized that his players would fight fatigue but emphasized that they could not lose that battle.
“We cannot break away from our patience. We can’t,” Tortorella said in the locker room. “That’s the chess match here. Keep f****** pounding. Don’t go running out of position to get it but when it’s there, we can’t let up any way.
“You’re gonna get caught on the ice, I think, just through emotion. You’re going to be a little tired at certain times. You can’t be tired. You got to find a way to get it done. Most importantly, have a blast tonight boys. Let’s go now. Come on.”
The Bruins and Blue Jackets face off in Game 5 on Saturday at 7:15 p.m.
