BOSTON � Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien is selling the message that defenseman Tomas Kaberle needs to be viewed as a spark plug and not the engine that drives the power play.
By Elsa, Getty Images
Tomas Kaberle is tripped up in Game 4 of the Boston Bruins' second-round sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers.
By Elsa, Getty Images
Tomas Kaberle is tripped up in Game 4 of the Boston Bruins' second-round sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers.
"No doubt people have looked at him as a savior because our power play has been struggling," Julien said Monday. "(But) he's just a piece of the puzzle."
Kaberle, with no goals and three assists in 12 playoff games, has been blamed in this city for the team's dismal 4.9% power-play efficiency.
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"I think I can play better," he said. "Obviously, I would like to help my teammates more."
Julien has been talking with Kaberle with the hope that he can restore some of the defenseman's confidence before Tuesday night's Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"I think he feels like he's under so much pressure," NBC/Versus analyst Joe Micheletti said. "He's not a savior. He's a good hockey player. He's a good guy.
"He's not going to be a leading-type guy that you can lean on to run a power play. He's a good passer, and he's shooting the puck more only because they drilled it into him. He's not a shooter."
The Bruins are 2-for-45 on the power play in the playoffs, and they have no power-play goals on the road.
"I think if (Kaberle) finds his game, he will be an important part of (our power play)," Julien said. "But he's not the reason why our power play isn't going at the rate we'd like it to go."
What makes the Bruins' power-play statistic more distressing is the Lightning have 13 power-play goals in the playoffs.
Having played on the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kaberle is accustomed to high expectations. "I would rather have pressure than no pressure," he said. "This is the Stanley Cup playoffs, and you have to be under heat every day."
Players sometimes do think about the pressure too much, Kaberle said.
"Just go on the ice and try your best," he said. "That's what I'm focused on, having a game like that (Tuesday night)."
Adding to the pressure is the fact that Boston gave up a good prospect, a first-round pick and a conditional pick to get Kaberle, who will be an unrestricted free agent. The Bruins don't need him to do it all on the power play; they need him to set the table more creatively.
"He's got to try to push himself to be the kind of player he can be," Julien said. "At the same time, it's up to us to help him through that."
The news media and fan pressure on Kaberle hasn't spilled over into the dressing room.
"In here we have a lot of confidence in him," Boston forward Rich Peverley said. "We know what he is capable of."
Julien said part of a coach's job is to serve almost like a counselor during slumps.
"Certainly him feeling our support is going to help him," Julien said. "You try to pick them up when they are down."
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