Rich Peverley has had some time to let the feeling of being a healthy scratch sink in.
On Friday, one day after he was sat for the Boston Bruins’ 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators, Peverley admitted frustration over head coach Claude Julien’s decision.
“You definitely think about it a lot,” Peverley told CSNNE.com on Friday.
“You wouldn’t be a hockey player if you weren’t frustrated by it. But you need to take a positive out of it and that’s what I’m trying to do right now.
“Obviously you never want to be a healthy scratch. But it was a coach’s decision. I know I need to be a lot better. Hopefully from here on out, it will go a lot better and I can use it as motivation.”
The 30-year-old Peverley, who the Bruins acquired in a deal with Atlanta in February of 2011, just months before their Stanley Cup win, is struggling right now.
The center has just four goals and nine points in 28 games, but is also a minus-nine.
That’s the worst plus-minus rating on a team that, to this point in the season, is an overall plus-16 and tied for the fourth best rating in the entire NHL alongside the Montreal Canadiens.