Black and Gold begin their push for the Cup

“Unfinished business,’’ said Patrice Bergeron, reliving for a moment the Game 7 overtime loss to Carolina that ended the 2009 playoffs and brought with it the thud of a summer-long migraine. “I think we all felt that way.’’

The question remains, do they now have the bodies to complete the business, win their first Stanley Cup since 1972? Much of the roster is the same, absent of course Phil Kessel, the speedy right winger who potted a team-high 36 goals last season. In his place, at least to start, is Marco Sturm, converted from left wing to right, where he’ll be entrusted to cash in Marc Savard’s pinpoint, velvety feeds.

“You need some time, definitely,’’ said Sturm, asked how long it takes for linemates to get in mental synch, where they are “thinking’’ the same game. “That’s especially true if you’ve never played together. But I know [Savard], the way he plays, and I love cutting in the from the right side.’’

Otherwise, coach Claude Julien has rookie Tuukka Rask filling Manny Fernandez’s backup spot behind No. 1 goalie Tim Thomas. Steve Begin is the new Stephane Yelle, centering the likes of Shawn Thornton and Byron Bitz on the crash-and-bang fourth line. Derek Morris has taken the spot of Aaron Ward, now in Carolina with Yelle, and figures to work as Zdeno Chara’s righthand partner on the No. 1 defense pairing. And with blue line extras Shane Hnidy (Minnesota) and Steve Montador (Buffalo) working elsewhere, Matt Hunwick finally gets full-time duty in the Hub, with Johnny Boychuk promoted from the Providence Wanna-B’s.

“I’ve got a couple of extra buttons to play with,’’ said Julien, asked if setting off on a new season’s journey is akin to, say, moving into a new house or driving a new car. “Little things, like making sure you push on the safety brake at the right time.’’

Julien, in two masterful years behind the Boston bench, has established both a method of play and a team mind-set, all of which is centered on defensive accountability, front to back. No matter how many buttons at his reach, his core method won’t change. Truth is, it’s much what he was preaching in New Jersey when he was inexplicably shown the door with three games to go in 2006-07 and the Devils sporting a 47-24-8 record.

However, as he wrapped up his final preseason press conference here yesterday, following his squad’s Ristuccia Arena tuneup, Julien felt it worthwhile to inform the media that he feels many teams in the league have ratcheted up their forechecking games over the last year or two. “So you guys know,’’ he said to the small collection of media who cover his team on a daily basis.

It’s precisely the forecheck, and the energy behind it, where Julien will attempt to ratchet up his own team’s play. When he talked about those other teams being aggressive, it was a telling hint about what he expected out of his own team.

General manager Peter Chiarelli is on record with the same theme. He wants to see a more consistent, harder, grittier effort, especially when forwards are pursuing pucks and pressing the opponent in its own end. Yelle and P.J. Axelsson lost their jobs in large part because Julien and Chiarelli were looking for greater energy and commitment from them. Begin, who played under Julien’s thumb in Montreal, enters now as the poster boy for getting after the puck, and he’ll start with a pair of burly, willing wingers in Thornton and Bitz.

The other big button for Julien to push will be Morris, the priciest summer acquisition (one-year deal at $3.3 million). Until further notice, he’ll team with Chara, and it will be that tandem that likely takes first-unit point duty on the power play. Morris rips off low, heavy slappers from the point, while Chara, though sometimes a reluctant shooter, owns the hardest shot in the league (certified at last season’s All-Star Game in Montreal). We’ll probably see considerably less of Bergeron at the point, which puts his slick hands closer to the net, which makes him more of an asset, too.

Also look for Julien to coax more out of his forwards, especially the twin behemoths Milan Lucic and Bitz, asking them to take out more of an ownership position around the net, both at the top of the crease and aside the posts. Despite his lack of size, 41-year-old Mark Recchi is by far the club’s most persistent performer around the cage. Lucic and Bitz have to adopt Recchi’s methods of darting to the front, maintaining ground, deflecting slappers, and picking up junk in front.

“A lot of it is knowing when to get in there, when to move in, get out, get back in,’’ said Recchi, who works the front of the net like a pickpocket works Times Square on New Year’s Eve. “Sometimes, all you’re doing in there is distracting the goalie. Just being there creates some havoc, and that can lead to goals, even if they’re not your goals. Doesn’t matter who gets ’em.’’

More muscle on the forecheck. Added steam from the points. Ample doses of getting after it in front when it’s there to get after. What’s new? More buttons. And the pushing begins tonight.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com.