Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco shares his approach to helping players who have underachieved this season
BOSTON -- Joe Sacco's first game as the Boston Bruins interim head coach was a successful one.
The B's ended their three-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night at TD Garden.
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Sacco was elevated to interim head coach on Tuesday after the team fired Jim Montgomery. It's not his first time being an NHL head coach. He led the Colorado Avalanche for four seasons from 2009-10 through 2012-13. But as a Medford, Mass., native, this victory was definitely special.
"It feels pretty good, not gonna lie to you," Sacco said in his postgame press conference. "To get our guys a win, too, was even more important, to feel better about ourselves. And I think how we went about the game tonight was a business-like approach. I thought that we had a couple individuals that really brought some energy to lift the bench at certain moments during the game.
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"Just a good effort all around from our guys. They really dug in, and we got some timely saves from (Joonas Korpisalo) when we needed them, especially towards the end there. A good effort from our group, and we were looking for that. We were looking for the passion and the emotion in our club, and we saw some of that here today."
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Sacco is no stranger to gamedays with the Bruins. He's in his 11th season on the Bruins coaching staff, but the hours leading up to puck drop Thursday had a bit of a different feel for the 55-year-old.
"I tried to prepare the way I normally would, but obviously it was a different day for me because -- I actually stayed at the rink all day," Sacco said.
"Typically I go home in between the morning skate and the game, but I stayed out at Warrior (Ice Arena) today and was able to relax and get my thoughts together. I wanted to try to enjoy the day and the night, because I knew that this was the first one, and make sure I remembered it."
Bruins captain Brad Marchand gave Sacco a game puck in the locker room after the win:
Here's to many more. pic.twitter.com/fW9E6nbrlj
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 22, 2024
The next challenge for Sacco and the Bruins is building some consistency.
The Bruins have bounced back from bad performances a couple times through their first 21 games, but those victories have typically been followed by a loss. In fact, the B's are 2-3-2 after a win this season, and if they don't reverse this trend soon, staying in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference could be difficult.
