Down 3-1 Becoming a Unhealthy Habit For Julien

Last year, the underdog Boston Bruins were down 3-1 against the Montreal Canadiens in their first round series. The team went into Montreal stole Game 5 on the way to pushing the Canadiens to 7. This year, the favorite Boston Bruins are once again down 3-1 in a series. This time they will have to go home to win Game 5, a much easier task than going to Montreal. However, the Bruins had one thing on their side against Montreal, a rivalry.

Claude Julien is probably the best coach to have in a situation like this. Julien, led the Bruins last year to a seventh game and just four years before that led the Montreal Canadiens to a first round series win after trailing Boston 3-1. The issue is that in both of these instances his teams were underdogs. In this series against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Bruins are the favorites.

Earlier, this playoffs, the Washington Capitals found a way to overcome a New York Rangers team that had gotten off to a 3-1 series lead. In that series the explosive Caps offense came alive  when pushed to the brink and their defense settled down. One can only hope the same will be said for the Bruins. Much like the Rangers did, the Hurricanes have played sound defense and their goaltender has stood on his head at points.

In the end, if the Bruins can play a full 60 minutes like they did in the second period of Game 4 than everything might just be alright. The key for the Bruins is to play sound defense and still be able to get the puck out of their zone effectively. There is little doubt the Bruins won't be motivated on Sunday but can Julien pull off another miracle?

Prediction Game 5: Bruins 4 Hurricanes 2