Iginla thinks the Bruins ‘will be just fine’
Photo by Francois Laplante |
After all, Monday’s game for the Colorado Avalanche was a game of firsts. It was the team’s first win of the season, and the game also saw the Avs score their first two goals after being shut out in their first two games. So, the lack of offense has been a struggle that both teams have been facing early on in the season.
It’s perhaps even more frustrating for the Bruins, as they lost their top scorer of last season when Iginla chose to sign with the Avs in the off season. The former Bruin is confident that the Bruins will have no trouble getting back into the swing of things.
“They’ve all been close games,” Iginla said of the Bruins’ three straight losses. “Getting [David] Krejci was a big boost for them, and I know they’ve got some guys out. I have no doubts that [the Bruins] will be just fine over there.”
Iginla was a huge loss for the Bruins, who couldn’t afford to sign him to the three-year, $16 million deal that saw him sign with Colorado. After a 30 goal season, the loss of Iginla has stung, especially so now that the Bruins have scored only three goals in four games. Monday’s game, however, saw a ton of improvement after two horrendous performances that ended in well-deserved losses.
“I think it was a better effort. I think there was better concentration. I think at the end of the day, some of those crucial mistakes came back to bite us,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. “That’s the story of this afternoon’s game and it’s unfortunate. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I saw some improvement in our team overall and I saw some positive things happen.”
Monday’s game also marked Iginla’s first return to the Garden since signing with the Colorado, and it went well – Iginla was met with cheers, rather than boos, from the crowd.
“It was fun to come back,” he said. “It was a little different, for sure, because I haven’t been gone that long. I had one of my favorite and most exciting years last year. It’s all good memories for me.”
“I have a lot of friends on the other side, so I’ve been following what they’ve been doing. It was a great experience coming to Boston. It feels like I’ve almost just been gone for a long vacation, but that’s part of the game.”
Via Joe Haggerty
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