Marco Sturm says Patrice Bergeron is "Mr. Perfect," and the Bruins spent Monday practice getting ready for his Hall of Fame night.
Sturm usually keeps his press conferences strictly business. This one had a different feel, with the induction ceremony set for tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on NHL Network and TSN.
The Bruins posted the coach's reaction after practice, and one line jumped out. Sturm said that sometimes he feels like Bergeron is Mr. Perfect.
Coming from a coach who never saw Bergeron in a Bruins sweater as a teammate, that's a hell of a compliment. It also tells you what the standard looks like in this room.
The team then showed the lighter side of the day, noting that Sturm was loving the Bergy bobblehead.
Players broke in their Hometown Remix shells and gold buckets at practice, and the Bruins even broke out the "HTR" gear for the occasion.
Bergeron played 1294 NHL games, every one of them in Boston. Nobody in that locker room needs a history lesson on who he was.
The club's own account summed up the evening in four words.
Can the Bruins carry the weekend on the ice?
So far, yes. Bergeron got his ring and blazer from Ray Bourque before dropping the puck in Toronto on Sunday, and the current team answered a day earlier by beating Florida 4-1.
Jeremy Swayman stopped 40 of 41 shots, and Elias Lindholm, Morgan Geekie, Michael Eyssimont and John-Jason Peterka all scored. The Tkachuk brothers combined for 41 penalty minutes in a game that got ugly, and we looked at Marco Sturm's stance on fighting after the Panthers brawl earlier today.
A team asked to play through an emotional weekend could easily have lost its edge. Instead the Bruins are 13-4-1, first in the Atlantic, and they've won four straight.
The Bruins also have the best seat in the building tonight, and they'll go back to work Thursday when Montreal comes to Boston.
Quick hits
NEW YORK ISLANDERSAndrew Gross reported that Ilya Sorokin took the starter's net at morning skate in San Jose. The Isles will lean on their veteran tonight.
LOS ANGELES KINGSKevin Fiala skated on a line with Quinton Byfield and Corey Perry at practice, according to Zach Dooley. That's a combination worth watching.
WASHINGTON CAPITALSCapitals PR announced the club has recalled 34-year-old defenseman Justin Holl from the Hershey Bears before the road trip. Veteran depth on the back end.
ST-LOUIS BLUESJeremy Rutherford, Lou Korac and Matthew DeFranks all confirmed that Logan Mailloux has been activated from injured reserve. The Blues' defense gets a shake-up.
DALLAS STARSBrien Rea reported that the Stars have claimed goaltender Remi Poirier off waivers from Washington. Some fans have wanted him back for a while.
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