UNIONDALE, NYThere was obviously a very happy group of Bruins players at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday morning after learning that they had clinched a postseason berth with Buffalos loss to Pittsburgh on Friday night.
They dont know who theyre playing and they have no idea what their ultimate postseason fate will be, but right now the Bruins know theyll get an opportunity to repeat as Stanley Cup champs.
The Bs stand as the fourth Eastern Conference team to secure a postseason slot with only two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Its definitely been a long, interesting season. We talked about how quick it was and weve had a lot of ups and downs, said Milan Lucic. Its an accomplishment, but obviously we have another goal in mind and thats clinching our division.
As Lucic stated, the Bruins still have something to play for with five games remaining as the Easts No. 2 slot is still completely up for grabs, but theres also some pride among the players at five straight years in the postseason.
Somebody like Milan Lucic doesnt know any different as the Black and Gold have been in the playoffs every year hes been in Boston. The young power forward realizes hes luckier than most in that regard.
Lucics first thoughts were of Marc Savard and his struggles to finally get into the postseason five years agowhich he first did in his second season with Bostonalong with plenty of other worthy NHL names still waiting for their first taste of playoff hockey.
Im lucky. Im fortunate to be a part of some good teams and really coming into Boston at the right time. Ive been part of the postseason for five years and its great, said Lucic. You think about players that its taken so long for them to get there: I think it took Marc Savard seven or eight years before he made the playoffs. It took forever for Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester still hasnt made the playoffs, but they still have a chance with Calgary.
The playoffs are something you want to be a part of and its what you play for. Now there are five games left that we have to gear up for it.
That gearing up starts on Saturday afternoon with a matinee tilt against the New York Islanders.