Julien working on shifty business

According to coach Claude Julien, one of the main reasons the Bruins were outshot, 15-3, in the second period Thursday was lengthy shifts. (JOHN BLANDING/GLOBE STAFF)

Like most coaches, Claude Julien knows how to curse.

Yesterday during practice at TD Banknorth Garden, Julien let 'em rip, barking out expletives during one drill and slamming his stick to the ice to deliver his message.

"We're 4-2," Julien said after practice. "But by no means should we even consider getting comfortable. I wasn't mad at them. But I was adamant about certain things I wanted done."

One point Julien hammered into his players Thursday and reinforced yesterday was the team's shoddy second-period play the last two games. Last Saturday, San Jose poured 13 second-period shots on Tim Thomas while the Bruins didn't put a single puck on Evgeni Nabokov.

On Thursday, Tampa Bay pelted Thomas with 15 second-period shots. The Bruins managed only three on Johan Holmqvist.

Julien pointed to several reasons the Bruins have been outshot, 28-3, during those periods. But perhaps the biggest bugaboo was seeing his players getting stuck on the ice for too long.

Against the Sharks, David Krejci was the biggest offender among the forwards, averaging 52 seconds per shift. The rookie center was on the ice for San Jose's third-period goal.

On Thursday, Peter Schaefer led all forwards by averaging 56 seconds per shift. Surprise, surprise - Schaefer was on the ice for the Lightning's only goal.

"Guys are staying out and staying out on their shifts a little long," Schaefer said. "It's wearing on us through the games. You have to try and keep it short and stay fresh. If we can do that, we should improve."

Schaefer said forwards ideally should be on the ice between 30 and 45 seconds. And Julien's instructions were that players should end their shifts earlier rather than later.

"Often we wait until we're exhausted to make that change," said Julien. "We should change before we get to that point. It's something we need to get better at. We have to be focused and determined to do it."

During the second period, when both teams have long changes - their benches are on the far end of the defensive zone - the defensemen have even more real estate to cover to get off the ice.

"You think you've been out there for 35 seconds, then you're tired and then you want to switch," said Andrew Alberts (57 seconds per shift against the Lightning). "It's still a long change, so it's an extra 10 seconds. Then you get caught in your own zone and you're out there for over a minute. So we talked about shorter shifts, better plays, and smarter dumps."

Special performances

Before last night's games, the Bruins held the most potent power play in the NHL, converting at a 28.6 percent clip.

But the Bruins, who didn't have a single man advantage against Tampa Bay, have had only 21 power-play opportunities, the fewest in the league.

"We have to create in the offensive zone and lead up to drawing more penalties," said Schaefer, who skates on the No. 1 power-play unit. "You've got to play in the offensive zone. If you're without the puck, it's pretty hard to draw penalties."

While the Bruins haven't been getting many power-play chances, they've been equally stingy allowing their opponents them. Entering last night, the Bruins had only gone on the penalty kill 22 times, second fewest behind Buffalo (21). Conversely, Toronto had killed a league-high 54 penalties.

"That's something we should all take pride in," said Julien of his club's disciplined play. "It is about special teams now. A lot of times, games are decided by the power play and penalty kill. We're doing a pretty good job there in allowing us to win some hockey games. If teams want to be undisciplined against us, I feel we have the power play to make them pay."

Better kind of busy

Thomas (3-1-0, 1.26 goals-against average, .962 save percentage) has posted some of the league's best statistics despite seeing more pucks than he did in 2006-07. This season, teams have averaged 32.5 shots per game on Thomas. Last season, Thomas saw 30.1 shots per outing.

"It might be a high number of shots," Thomas said. "But the number of scoring chances has gone down. That's the key. It's been everything - forwards helping the D, the coaches instituting a system where the [defensemen] know where they should be, instituting a system where the forwards know the jobs they have to do. As a goalie, when you know where everybody else is going to be, you know where the weak spots are going to show up, so you're ready for those."

Line changes

Julien put P.J. Axelsson back on the third line with Krejci and Phil Kessel yesterday, dropping Milan Lucic to the fourth line. Lucic has been part of the KLK line for the last three games . . . Jeremy Reich (groin) didn't practice . . . Old friend Paul Mara greeted ex-teammates and members of the Bruins staff before the Rangers' practice yesterday.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at FShinzawa@globe.com.