If Julien needs wins to save job, Bruins schedule could be his undoing

Nothing but landmines ahead for Claude Julien.

With speculation swirling about an apparent divide between the Boston Bruins management and Julien, the NHL's longest tenured coach, the club's preparing to embark on an arduous portion of their schedule.

To finish the month, Boston is home to Chicago, at Pittsburgh, home to Detroit and Pittsburgh, and then at Tampa Bay.

In February, the Bruins will visit Washington before hosting Toronto, San Jose, Vancouver, and Montreal. The club will then tour California, meeting the Sharks, Ducks, and Kings.

"It's not going to get easier," netminder Tuukka Rask acknowledged after their shootout loss to the Red Wings on Wednesday, via the Associated Press. "This is probably the biggest couple of weeks in our season coming up, really good teams against us. We'll have to play some good hockey."

If there's a silver lining within the schedule (and for Julien), it's that the Bruins will be rested for these games. They will have the All-Star break, their bye, and another four-day stretch between games over the next six weeks, playing just 13 games.

On the other side of that, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators will be spending their games in hand over the next six weeks, potentially heightening the pressure on a Bruins teams now 17th in points percentage.