‘Incredible Speech’ This just the beginning, I’m ready to give my best Bruins Defenseman proclaims

 

‘Incredible Speech’ From Defenseman Inspired Bruins Before Game 7

Brad Marchand and Pat Maroon saw great value in the veteran’s words

Bruins defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk only received 10:29 of ice time — the fewest among the defensive corps — in Boston’s thrilling Game 7 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden.

But Shattenkirk’s biggest contribution perhaps came before the puck was even dropped Saturday night.

With the Bruins making the unusual decision to stay at a hotel the night before the home game, Shattenkirk delivered a well-timed speech that resonated with his teammates and got them prepared for the pressure-packed, winner-take-all situation.

“We were together (Friday) night, it’s not a secret,” Marchand told reporters following Boston’s 2-1 overtime win, per Eric Russo of Bruins.com. “We watched video, we met as a group and (Shattenkirk) gave the group an incredible speech that really allowed us to kind of settle down and understand where we’re at and how we had to play and what we needed to believe to get the job done.

“We woke up (Saturday) morning, you could just see within the group that we knew that everybody was going to bring their best game and everyone was going to do their job, so there was a confidence throughout the group (Saturday) morning and you felt it. You could see it on guys faces, and it didn’t seem like anyone was nervous.”

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