But Hnidy, who faced his old team last night for the first time, and the other veterans were integral characters in the dressing room for Boston. With their different personalities, Hnidy and the other graybeards helped maintain a sense of calm around the 2008-09 club.

“We had a core of guys,’’ said Hnidy, who signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Wild over the summer. “We talked about it a lot last year. Chemistry on that team, I think, was a big part of the success. It is on any team.

“We had a great group of leadership with the veterans. Axy had been there so long, and he brought that fun attitude to the team. It was great. But you move along and bring that to a different team.’’

Execution and emotional engagement were two issues that troubled the Bruins at the beginning of this season. While they have made no excuses for their poor start, they acknowledged that the leadership vacuum in the room didn’t make things any easier.

As expected, it has taken some time for new players such as Derek Morris, Steve Begin, and Daniel Paille to find their comfort level among the Bruins. But the off-ice chemistry has improved, not coincidentally, as the Bruins have rattled off some wins of late.

“A team’s identity is how well you play together and hard you play for each other,’’ said coach Claude Julien, who noted a turnaround following a 4-1 dud against the Islanders Nov. 16. “We didn’t feel that was there yet. We knew we had it in that room. It just wasn’t happening.

“The next day at practice, we talked about those things. That’s come around. When you start winning, you start feeling good about yourself.

“I don’t think we’re cocky. But we’re confident and we’re enjoying coming to the rink again. At one point, I’m not sure we were enjoying it that much.

“Now it’s fun to come to the rink. That’s what it’s all about. If you can build that situation and try to hold onto it for as long as you can, that can make a big difference.’’

Paille, paired with Begin, has used his speed, stick, and puck pursuit to become the team’s up-front PK ace.

Going into last night, Paille was averaging 2:02 of shorthanded ice time per game, tied with Patrice Bergeron for most PK work among the forwards.

But Julien also credits the other pairings - Bergeron and Marco Sturm, David Krejci and Blake Wheeler - for helping to shut down power plays.

“They’re not only decent penalty killers, but now they’re threats offensively if teams turn pucks over,’’ said Julien, whose team has scored two shorthanded goals. “Our whole core, our D’s, and our goaltending’s made key saves.

“When your penalty kill gets going, it’s about a blend of everybody.’’