From a logistical standpoint, keeping the trio intact on the power play can help tidy things up on the shift chart.
"Looking back maybe at a game like Dallas where there's a lot of penalties both ways, failed kills, we were on the power play so we go through periods where we only have two or three shifts together," outlined the two-time 30-goal scorer. "This way, we're able to keep our lines together, stick together a little bit more, and maybe get a few more shifts together and hopefully make stuff happen."
Turning the corner on the backend
Julien was pleased to see improved performances from some of his D-men, starting with newcomer Ben Chiarot, who scored the game-winner against Beantown.
"In Ben Chiarot's case, it's pretty obvious to everyone that he's been playing better hockey lately. He's coming from a team where the game was pretty aggressive, man-on-man, etc. He was playing differently in Winnipeg," explained Julien of Chiarot, who played his first 305 NHL games in Manitoba. "They're a big team, so they would often send pucks along the boards and they made sure the forwards were there to do the job. We play differently here, so it was maybe a bit of a learning curve. From what I'm seeing, he's adapting pretty well. He's been playing well lately, he's playing a lot better."