Bruce Cassidy couldn’t help himself on Sunday morning.
These days, the former B’s bench boss has a different routine during his time on Causeway Street.
Now at the helm of a Golden Knights club that stands at the top of the Western Conference, Cassidy made his way to TD Garden with the rest of his team via charted buses after a nearby hotel stay. For the previous six seasons, the Bruins’ locker room was his domain. But now, he’ll have to conduct business from the Garden’s smaller quarters — reserved for visiting opponents.
Still, before his team took to the ice for an optional skate ahead of Monday’s anticipated showdown against Boston, Cassidy took the time to walk over to Boston’s bench, his old stomping grounds, and reflect on all that has transpired over the last few months.
“Good memories. I walked out to the other bench, the home bench, just to see what it was like," Cassidy said. "I've been in that spot a lot. So I used to always look at the banners up top. Wanted to hang one. That didn't happen. But still great memories.
“Good to see Grizz's dad. The McCorkles I'm sure will be there and things like that. There are good memories of people you meet behind the scenes … Like I said, I always had great memories from here.”
Of course, while Cassidy — who compiled a record of 245-108-46 during his time with Boston — offered positive reflections on what Monday’s return means for him, he still has a job to do.
The pain of his surprise firing back in June perhaps has dulled, but such a sudden departure will likely be fresh on Cassidy’s mind when he looks to snap his former team’s undefeated record on home ice this season.
And considering that plenty of the same personnel that Cassidy coached for years remains in Boston’s room, that familiarity could come in handy when it comes to brewing up an effective gameplan to stop the 20-3-0 B’s.
"Coaching and fun are rarely in the same sentence,” Cassidy said of prepping for Boston. “It's rewarding, it can be enjoyable. But yeah, I mean, I know the Bruins. They've obviously changed some things, they're playing great hockey, be a big challenge for us. But yeah, hopefully, there are some things that, individual players, we can help with.”
Still, while the determining factor that prompted Boston’s top brass to move on from Cassidy revolved around messaging and the need for a “new voice”, Jim Montgomery’s most sizable contribution to this Bruins team might be his system tweaks.
Because even though Boston is still anchored by the usual suspects that Cassidy led from 2017-22, the manner in which the B’s have involved their defensemen on offense and set their neutral-zone structure has added new wrinkles to an already stout system built to wear down opponents and steadily accrue points.
“Their D gets involved more on the weak side,” Cassidy said of the changes with this Bruins team. “It's something we talked about here. We just didn't get it accomplished for whatever reason. Our guys do it well in Vegas as well. … I think Lindholm is a big driver of that. And unfortunately, he was hurt for us a bit last year. We could see it. He was going to be an excellent player, it was a great acquisition. And he's added to that.
“So when you play 23 minutes, and you have that guy that brings it, one guy can sort of tilt (the ice), because you know Charlie's gonna do it. And Grizz has always been good at popping up there. So that's the one thing. Neutral zone, at times, a little different — aggressive in certain spots that we were less aggressive in terms of defending. So sometimes if you're on time, you can take advantage of that. If you're not, then they're going to get takeaways and go the other way which creates offense, so we got to be mindful of that.”
Of course, while Cassidy will be looking to dole out some on-ice revenge against his former club (and likely has some inside intel to accomplish said task), Montgomery noted that the Bruins also have a book on their former coach when it comes to his tendencies and overall structure.
"I think it goes both ways,” Montgomery said. “We know how he coaches really well. So I think both teams' pre-scouts probably did not need to watch video. So it's going to make for a great matchup. Butch is an excellent, excellent coach. I mean, his record here, his record and what he's doing in Vegas, speaks for itself. I think he did a great job here for a long time.”
And even though no Bruin was willing to take the bait over the last few days, there are likely a few regulars in Boston’s dressing room that would also like to let their play do the talking against Vegas on Monday night.
Should make an anticipated, narrative-heavy matchup during what is usually the dog days of December.