"When you consider that the Bruins are coming off a Stanley Cup victory and return all but three players, team-building might not seem all that necessary.

But Claude Julien feels quite the opposite, for various reasons, and the B's coach took his staff and players to Great Diamond Island off the coast of Portland, Maine, over the last two days for some bonding and refocusing.

The B's, who've gone off on short sabbaticals the last several years, have almost always had a long October road trip that often served to bring the team together. This year, however, they are playing 13 of their first 17 games at home, and the 48-hour trip just might be as important as any the team has taken during camp."