BRUINS BEAT;Identity found;Team returns to style that worked in 2009

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - For the Bruins, it is all about identity and confidence, one feeding the other.

When the Bruins play with the proper identity, when they play the right way, guess what happens? They become a very confident and successful team. When they do it as well as they did yesterday against the Phoenix Coyotes at the O2 Arena, they become well nigh unbeatable.

''When you looked at our team (in Saturday's loss) and (yesterday), you saw two different teams,'' said coach Claude Julien. ''We hope to see the team that played the second game more than the one that played in the first one.

''We believe we can be very competitive this year. All we have to do is play the way we did (in Game 2). That's something you hope you can build on.''

Two seasons ago, the Bruins enjoyed a magical regular season. Nearly every time out, it seemed, the B's stepped on the ice knowing they were going to win. Their opponents knew it, too.

The 116 points by that team were no fluke. The B's executed the Julien game plan so well, so consistently, that they just smothered and dominated teams. Defense was the No. 1 priority, leading to aggressive offense. That's still the philosophy, and it's still the approach that makes the most sense in the NHL.

What the Bruins showed this weekend was twofold: When they don't play their game, they really stink. That was the story Saturday, as the Coyotes set the tone from the outset - and the B's were a bunch of jittery and confused no-talents. They made the game so easy for Phoenix.

Yesterday, it was exactly the opposite: They never gave the Coyotes an uncontested inch of ice. Everything was a battle, and the Bruins won most of them.

''It was evident that if we do those types of things, we're going to be successful,'' said Milan Lucic, one of the most aggressive Bruins. ''Now we've got to go and build on these things and keep moving forward and forward. That's why we got the outcome we wanted.''

The Bruins made their domination of a pretty good Phoenix team look easy. It was just the same way so many nights two years ago: Line after line skating hard, pressing, controlling time and space.

''The thing is, it isn't easy,'' said Lucic. ''But when everybody is on the same page and everyone is working hard, that's when it looks easy. It was great that we had a strong third period in the first game; we carried that over (yesterday) and I felt like we played a full 60 minutes.''

The key is having all 12 forwards playing the same way, all four lines rolling over and maintaining the pressure. But if there is one Bruin who is especially crucial to this club's keeping that identity, it is Lucic.

And just like some 12-year-old youth hockey player, after Lucic slammed home his first goal of the season to open the scoring, you could see just a little more energy and aggressiveness in his play.

''Oh, yeah, for sure,'' said Lucic. ''You're always excited to get a goal, and obviously that first one of the season is a nice one to get early. Playing with Krech (David Krejci) and Horts (Nathan Horton), we have some pretty good chemistry going, and we've just got to keep moving our feet, protecting the puck, and we can be a great line.''

If the Bruins do all the things they did yesterday, they can be a great team. They can take this game, study it, and try to recreate it 80 more times this season. Do that, and those 116 points may just happen again.

The B's did more than just put a happy ending on their European sojourn: They showed what is possible for this team.

''It would have been a downer to come all this way and get nothing out of it,'' said Lucic. ''Especially with how close we've become as a team in these 12 days. But we were able to pull through like this, have everybody dig deep and play so hard. It's evident that if we play a certain way, we're going to win.''

What excuse could there be, going forward, to play any other way?