Meanwhile, in Washington, the Capitals are in the midst of their now seven-game losing streak. In a team meeting last week, Bruce Boudreau voiced his concerns.
It's a tough month and HBO is in here, but at the same time, I can't sit here and watch what we've been going through without saying what needs to be said. I can guarantee you in the Pittsburgh locker room when they've won 10 in a row and they're undefeated in 12 games, everything's laughing and jokes and they're going to be talking about the two teams. One struggling and one having the time of their lives.
That was the nice version. After last Monday's 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boudreau was a bit more blunt.
Boudreau would then compare coaching to parenting. Perhaps that is what tough love really means.
Look, its a 60 minute game. I don't know what happened in the third period, but we quit playing the game. There's one thing about playing defensive hockey and there's another thing about quitting playing the game. We let them f****** come into our barn and score three goals in the third period. It's not right. Be ready for work Thursday.