Bruins feeding off Patriots' success

After the Boston Bruins completed practice Monday at Warrior Arena, highlights from the Patriots’ AFC Championship victory were on the big-screen television in the hockey locker room. Bruins players were sporting toques with New England’s slogan “Not Done.”

Matt Grzelcyk, Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy, Riley Nash, David Pastrnak, Paul Postma, Tuukka Rask and equipment manager Matt Falconer all attended Sunday’s game at Gillette Stadium. For Grzelcyk, a Charlestown native, it was the first time he’s been to a Patriots game.

“Unbelievable,” he said. “I was kind of scared, but obviously they pulled it off.”



The Bruins and Patriots have always had a close relationship. Once the Patriots’ season is complete, there are usually surprise visits to the Garden by Rob Gronkowski, Stephen Gostkowski and sometimes Bill Belichick. It’s only natural that fans and other pro athletes in this town can feed off New England’s success, especially for the Bruins’ rookie class.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Grzelcyk said. “It drives you even further. Right now we’re trying to take it one game at a time, but we’re obviously enjoying this streak that we’re on.”

The Bruins have earned points in 16 consecutive games and they’re 12-0-4 in this span. Boston is showing signs of not slowing down, and after the Patriots’ season is complete, fans should start focusing on the Bruins because they have an opportunity to do something special this season too.

“Gives us a little more motivation to try to keep up with them,” Grzelcyk said of the Patriots’ success. “It’s awesome to see and great to be part of it and seeing it first hand growing up in Boston.

“You don’t want to be on the losing side of things. I know first hand how passionate the sports fans are here, so when it’s going well it’s really going well and when it’s going bad it can be pretty tough. Seeing the Patriots have success is awesome and it’s something I’ve become accustomed to, but it’s great to see them get another win.”

When Patriots’ Danny Amendola made a dramatic catch in the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown, fans at Gillette Stadium erupted. Grzelcyk said he’s never experienced anything like that as a fan at a sporting event.

“Oh, it was insane,” he said. “I don’t know if I have ever heard a stadium like that in my life; it was crazy.”

Any time a team is loaded with a lot of younger players, it’s natural for management and the coaching staff to be concerned of the typical ebbs and flows of a season for rookies. The Bruins have dealt with this scenario, but for those younger players who experienced the atmosphere on Sunday, it could serve as a motivational factor down the stretch.

“I hope so,” said Bruce Cassidy. “You can’t help but to get caught up in it I’ve been in New England 10 years and you can see how teams continually can’t put the Patriots away; it’s not just one time. They’re in peoples’ heads; I don’t care what anybody says. There are less conversations probably about their own team and more about what the Patriots can do, so right away (opponents) aren’t focused on themselves. It’s an amazing quality that team has. The character and the culture they’ve created and their identity.

“We’d love to be that where we’re coming at you, coming at you and it doesn’t matter what happens right to the bitter end.”

Veteran players like Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Tuukka Rask and Adam McQuaid have won a championship in Boston. They understand how difficult it is to win a Stanley Cup. But, they also know how crazy this city gets when the Bruins are the best team in the NHL.

“There are guys in this locker room that have won and would like to again,” Cassidy said. “For the younger guys who haven’t, that’s one of the things they need to embrace.”

Chara doesn’t seem concerned about any other team besides his own. The captain said he only watched bits and pieces of the AFC Championship game.

“It’s pretty special,” he said of another trip to the Super Bowl for the Patriots. “The consistency they’re showing. Obviously, they’re playing really well as a team, performing well and executing well, so hats off to them.”

The Bruins will fly under the radar until the Patriots’ season is complete, but after that the Bruins should have the opportunity to make their own impression on the city and its fans.