The 22-year veteran is a certain Hall of Famer with 577 goals and 1,533 points to rank among the all-time greats of the game. He’s also a proven winner, with his name engraved on the Stanley Cup twice. There’s no doubt about the value Recchi brings to the Bruins in terms of the leadership he adds to the locker room and the guidance he’s given to youngsters like Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin.
But on the ice, Recchi has struggled a bit to produce at his customary level in this Eastern Conference final against Tampa Bay. After posting solid 2-5-7 totals and a plus-9 rating in the first two series against Montreal and Philadelphia, Recchi has no points and is a minus-5 through the first six games against the Lightning.
“I think the first game I wasn’t good,” Recchi said. “I think after that I’ve been OK. I haven’t been good, I haven’t been bad. But you know, that’s all washed away with one game now. I’m going to lay it all out on the line, go out and have fun with this and get back in the Stanley Cup Final.”
Recchi’s teammates are confident that he’ll come through with a big effort Friday night in Game 7.
“He’s been through this before and the last Game 7 against Montreal he came up big, scoring a goal in the first period there,” forward Milan Lucic said. “Obviously he’s excited for this opportunity. You can’t keep him off the scoresheet for too long, so hopefully he can break that tonight.”
Recchi was a minus-4 over the first two games of the series, but has settled down since. But he also hasn’t created a lot of chances in that span, with just two shots in the last four games. That’s been frustrating for Recchi, but he’s happy to see other players chip in offensively and knows it won’t matter who gets the goals, as long as the Bruins can beat Tampa and reach the Cup Final.
“We’ve been together all year and obviously you’d like to have an impact,” said Recchi, who has 3-4-7 totals in nine career Game 7 appearances, tops among all players on either team’s roster heading into Friday’s decisive game. “At the same time, that’s why we’re here for each other. Earlier in the playoffs, our line was terrific and we carried a lot of the burden for the team. Other guys have stepped up and been terrific now. And now it’s one game, and let’s all do it together. That’s the important thing, we have one opportunity here to get to the Stanley Cup Finals and we’ll do it together.”
