Milan Lucic's Blog: Playoff mailbag

Milan Lucic scored his first playoff goal in Game 3. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

Milan Lucic
2008-04-15 14:56:59

Hey everyone,

As promised, we have a mailbag edition in this blog, but I also wanted to give you my two cents on the playoffs. Let’s get to a couple of those questions. A big thanks to everyone who wrote in…

I have been a Bruins fan since the ’70s, so I’ve seen many players come and go. I feel pretty good about this team. I like the young blood on the roster and feel this team is only getting better with experience.

The comparisons have been obvious, or maybe not, but how does it feel, or what do you think about being compared to Cam Neely?
Gordie Daniels, Keene, N.H.

Thanks for your e-mail Gordie. Anytime you are compared to a player of that caliber, it’s a huge compliment. Cam was an unbelievable player and competitor and it’s been great getting to know him more this season (Neely is in his first year as team vice-president).

He has been a good resource for me. I know there is still a long way to go and a lot of work that needs to be done before I can really be compared to him and match what he has accomplished, though.

I am a huge Vancouver Giants fan. As a former Giant have you been able to follow the team at all this year and do you stay in contact with any of your former teammates?
C. Decario, Burnaby, B.C.

I still keep in touch with a lot of the guys and have a lot of friends on that team. I miss playing with them and hanging out! They have had a good season and I really hope to catch up with them this summer.

I have three boys who play hockey in East Vancouver and they would like to know if you played minor hockey there.
Dean Melhorst, Vancouver

Yes, I played for VMHA out of the Agridome.

Hi Milan, what do you think it will take for the Bruins to do well in the playoffs? 
Nick C.

I think we have the makeup of a team that can do well in the playoffs. We have good chemistry, can be physical and play solid defense. The playoffs are a completely new season; everyone starts with a clean slate. Anything can happen…

Speaking of the post-season, you always hear how the playoffs are different – the skating is faster, the hits are harder and the games are more intense overall. I can tell you now this is all 100 percent true. Everyone has seemed to pick their game up a notch and raise their level of play.

I think the intensity carries over into the stands. We’ve had unbelievable atmospheres both in Boston and Montreal through the first few games. Twenty thousand fans screaming and waving towels; you can feel the energy in the building from inside the locker room before the game even starts. 

It was awesome seeing our fans rise to the challenge of drowning out the Montreal fans who made the trip down to Boston. The Canadiens fans were all over us in Montreal and you could hear them boo every time Zdeno Chara touched the puck.

A lot of the Canadiens fans made the trip to Boston and they tried to do the same thing here in the Garden, but our fans said ‘no way that’s going to happen in our house.’

When I was on the bench you could actually hear the boos get overwhelmed by the cheering of our fans when ‘Z’ got the puck. It was pretty cool. They even started booing Alex Kovalev (Montreal’s acting captain) when he got the puck, in retaliation. 

The place was electric. 

The games have been really physical so far and I think we can expect that the rest of the way.

I was lucky to have about 15 of my family and friends make it out for Game 3. They saw an amazing game and me score my first playoff goal. It’s funny because just about the same group was in Los Angeles when I scored my first NHL goal back in October.

I need to start having them come to all of our games! Good things seem to happen when they are in the stands.

That’s about it from Beantown,
Milan

A native of Vancouver, Milan Lucic is a rookie with the Boston Bruins. His blog will appear on THN.com throughout the NHL season.