Nick Foligno’s clubhouse speech to his teammates during the second intermission of the Winter Classic became a prime talking point following the Boston Bruins’ 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 2.
On Saturday, ‘Behind the B’ provided a full look at Foligno’s address inside the B’s dressing room. The Bruins’ official Twitter account revealed the behind-the-scenes look ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the rival Toronto Maple Leafs.
Foligno and company hardly looked sharp through the first 40 minutes at Fenway. The Bruins struggled to generate many quality scoring chances on a desperate Pens squad. They found themselves 20 minutes away from snapping a four-game skid after carrying a 1-0 lead into the dressing room.
The former Blue Jackets captain didn’t want his current team to waste a golden opportunity. And indeed, the Bruins returned to the blue-collar basics during the final 20.
“Let’s dominate this third period, and let’s take them right out of the [expletive] game,” Foligno said as part of his speech.
Ironically, Jake DeBrusk chimed in within seconds of Foligno’s passionate address. Afterward, the top-line right winger carried the team on his back, persevering through pain en route to the tying and go-ahead markers.
“In talking to Bergy and some of the other guys who’ve played, you only remember the ones you win. I think that was the talk — we have to find a way to win this one. It will make it that much better, and I was proud of the way the guys for digging in,” Foligno said following Boston’s classic win on Jersey Street.
“J.D. [DeBrusk] obviously comes up huge, and I thought Linus was outstanding. So everyone was dialed in for that third period, and we found a way to win. I’ll now look back at this as one of the best memories from my career, and hopefully, we have a few more down the road here in the spring.”
No matter what he does for the rest of his tenure in Boston, Foligno has his place in Bruins’ lore. And perhaps all parties will have another moment up their sleeves come playoff time, with the Bruins and Pens potentially reuniting for a first-round matchup.
At the very least, they’ll meet once more on Apr. 1 in Pittsburgh.
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