How intense has the Bruins-Canucks rivalry become? Even the retired players are getting into it. Last June’s Stanley Cup combatants reunite Saturday afternoon (1 p.m., NESN) at TD Garden for the first time since Game 7, when the Bruins skated with the Cup on Vancouver ice.
It was the last career game for Bruins forward Marc Recchi, but the end of his playing career has not dulled his dislike for his hometown team.
After trashing the Canucks on Boston radio in November — “They are the most arrogant team and the most hated team I’ve ever played against” — Recchi revisited his feelings in Thursday’s edition of Vancouver’s “The Province.”
“There was a lot of dislike on both sides,” Recchi said. “And it wouldn’t have been a Stanley Cup final if there wasn’t that much dislike — we really didn’t like each other.” ?
The feeling is apparently mutual.
“Isn’t [Recchi] retired?” Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieska said. “Tell him to go play a round of golf or take a nap.”
But will the Canucks ever put their moxie where their mouths are?
The Bruins changed the course of the Finals by physically dominating Games 3 and 4, propelling them from a 2-0 series deficit to a Game 7 triumph.
“You know what? I’m pretty tired of that question,” Canucks center Henrik Sedin explained. “We won the President’s Trophy last year, we went to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Final. We didn’t lose the final because we were pushed around, we lost because we couldn’t score.”
For all the tough talk, the Canucks entered play Thursday leading the league with 134 goals.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Bruins were second, with 129.
“They’re faster and might be even better than they were last year,” Recchi said of his former team.
“Even though they got off to a slow start, they were playing well but just not scoring. Once they got that going, the floodgates opened. The run they’ve been on has been incredible.”?
B’s blast Flames
The Bruins continued their torrid offensive pace last night as they torched the Calgary Flames, 9-0.
The B’s jumped out to a 3-0 lead — with goals from Tyler Seguin, Milan Lucic and David Krejci — and never looked back as they popped in four in the second period and a pair in the third. Tuukka Rask had his 11th career NHL shutout.