Bruins quietly prep for another run at Cup

The New York Rangers’ success has been the big story in the East, and rightfully so. The Philadelphia Flyers draw attention thanks to quirky goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who can be riveting or terrifying. And most hockey observers have narrowed the most-valuable-player contenders to Flyers winger Claude Giroux, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin.

In the meantime, another East team has been positioning itself for a strong playoff run.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, almost written off after a 3-7 start and later plagued by inconsistency, have quietly won four of five games and solidified their hold on the No. 2 seeding. They’ve become more tenacious defensively and added a dimension offensively by acquiring winger Brian Rolston, who has become part of a potent third line. Rolston, 39, has three goals and 11 points in a six-game scoring streak alongside Chris Kelly and Benoit Pouliot.

“I’ve played for almost 20 years in this league and I haven’t quite seen a jelled team like this is,” said Rolston, who set up the 1995 Cup-winning goal while with New Jersey. “Even though we were struggling a little bit it’s just a real team. It’s not about individuals. And that speaks to the character in this dressing room.

“You have tremendous depth and you have great goaltending, and guys hold each other accountable in the right way. And they also care about each other tremendously. That’s what it takes to be a winning hockey team. And I could see it as soon as I came here.”

Five Bruins have scored at least 20 goals, and Kelly needs one to join them. Goalie Tim Thomas, last season’s Vezina Trophy winner and playoff MVP, has given up only six goals in his last four starts, three of them wins. Zdeno Chara has been monstrous, leading all defensemen with a plus-27 defensive rating through Sunday’s games while contributing 45 points.

Chara believes the Bruins can still improve over their final seven games.

“We want to have some consistency and put some things together,” he said Sunday after their 3-2 victory over the Ducks at Anaheim. “We are not thinking right now about repeating or defending. We are more thinking about our game, how we want to play, how we want to be going into the playoffs and play strong.”

The playoffs test mental toughness and physical endurance, and the Bruins proved their fortitude last spring while becoming the first team to win three Game 7s in one postseason. They know what to expect this time and what it will take to become the first repeat winner since the 1997 and 1998 Detroit Red Wings.

“We still feel we’ve got some work to do, just because the fact that we’ve been struggling the last couple of months and we’ve slowly turned the corner here,” Coach Claude Julien said.

“We’ve won four out of our last five games, so that bodes well. But we don’t get comfortable, and that’s the strength of our team. When we don’t get comfortable, we go out every night and want to prove ourselves, so I think that approach seems to be coming back.”

Alexander the very good

Alexander Radulov‘s return to Nashville four years after he bolted for Russia’s KHL was hailed as a potential game-changer. Although he’s still shaking his jet lag and getting back in shape, he has helped the Predators in their battle for a prime West playoff spot.

The 25-year-old right wing, drafted 15th overall in 2004, has one goal, three points and a plus-one defensive rating in three games. “So far, so good. He’s a player that’s older, wiser, more mature. I think he’s just a better all-around player,” General Manager David Poile said Monday.

“Four years ago, he scored 26 goals for us as a 21-year-old and just like all players, you hope they get better as they mature and get more experience, and he’s certainly that. I don’t think he’s THE piece, but he’s certainly one of the pieces that gives us a chance to be a better club.”

The low-budget Predators, always competitive but unable to win a playoff round until last spring, have a small window to win the Cup before elite defensemen Ryan Suter and Shea Weber reach free agency. Suter can be an unrestricted free agent July 1, but Weber will be restricted.

The lack of a labor deal next season also clouds the future. So Poile felt it made sense to trade two youngsters and a draft pick to Montreal for veteran defenseman Hal Gill, trade draft picks to Montreal for forward Andrei Kostitsyn, and send a first-round pick to Buffalo for faceoff specialist Paul Gaustad.

Blending so many players into what was a young lineup so late in the season has created a few bumps, but Poile isn’t worried.

“It’s all part and parcel of what it takes to have the necessary depth to go deep in the playoffs,” he said. “I think right now we’re a work in progress. I like most everything about our team. I think we just need a few more games’ practice under our belts to jell as a team.”

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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