BOSTON — Milan Lucic hoped Bruins fans would give him a warm reception in his first game back at TD Garden. He received exactly that.
The Bruins honored Lucic, whose tenure in Boston ended when he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings this past June, with a video tribute during a first-period timeout in Tuesday night’s B’s-Kings game. The Garden crowd rose to give the big winger a standing ovation and continued to chant “Mi-lan Lu-cic” as play resumed.
Lucic, who spent eight seasons with the Bruins and was a part of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2011, reflected before the game on his greatest memories from his time in Boston.
“Well obviously, it’s the place that you started,” he said. “When you come here as a 19-year-old rookie and end up having the success that you do, a lot of things cross your mind, especially when you get to achieve your ultimate dream of winning a Stanley Cup and doing it with the group of guys that I got to do it with, in the organization that I got to do it with, in the city with the fans and everything.
“I think that’s what sticks out the most: getting to be a part of a Stanley Cup-winning team on an Original Six team in a city where they really embrace their athletes and their sports teams. Those are the things that cross your mind, and those are the things that, I guess, kind of add to the emotion of (Tuesday’s) game.”
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/Associated Press
