New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was fully embedded in his NFL draft war room Thursday night, but he still took some time to congratulate a fellow Boston sports team.
The Bruins nipped the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in overtime that same night, evening their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series at two games apiece as it shifts back to Boston.
The Patriots had yet to make their first selection when rookie Matt Fraser’s goal won it for the B’s (New England ended up taking Florida defensive end Dominique Easley 29th overall), but the drama in Montreal was not entirely off Belichick’s radar.
“No, we didn’t,” Belichick said, via the Patriots’ official transcript, when asked if he and his staff were able to watch the Bruins’ thrilling finish. “We really didn’t until after we were done. They won in overtime, right? Goal from the guy they brought up (Thursday). That’s good personnel management by (general manager) Peter (Chiarelli) and (head coach) Claude (Julien). Hats off to them. That’s great. That’s great coming back here now tied up. Tough to win there in Montreal, too, so that’s a big win for them. That’s great. Congratulations to them.”
The Patriots boss will be able to watch the next Bruins-Habs matchup in full if he chooses. The third and final day of the NFL draft kicks off at noon Saturday, and Game 5 at TD Garden isn’t set to begin until 7 p.m.
