BOSTON — It’s tough to draw up a better guest for Irish Heritage Night than who the Boston Bruins brought to TD Garden on Saturday night.
Legendary mixed martial artist Conor McGregor performed the ceremonial puck drop prior to the Bruins’ 2-1 overtime victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets. McGregor was spotted around the arena throughout the game, and even paid the B’s a visit beforehand to give them a little pep talk.
Though McGregor never had been to a hockey game before, he clearly did a fine job leaving a mark on the Bruins. Here’s what they had to say about his appearance.
Bruce Cassidy
“Yeah, he did a nice job for us, came in the room before. He’s fired up, that guy. He’s still fired up. I’m glad we won. He would’ve come in and probably, you know, had his way with us. He had a nice few words for the guys before the game, a little different. You’re not used to that. (New England) Patriots came in one night. That’s kind of nice. Red Sox I think, mix it up a little bit, so I think it’s fun.”
Patrice Bergeron
“I was (a fan) yeah to be honest and he came into the dressing room and had a little speech, a little pep talk before the game and he even came after. So much respect for him and for everything that he’s been able to do for promoting himself to obviously doing so well in fighting. So I was a fan before, even more so now. … It was a nice pep talk and good to have him stop by obviously. It meant a lot to us.”
Zdeno Chara
“Definitely is something that’s pretty impressive of someone of his caliber and what he has accomplished could easily sneak out and go home and do other things. So that’s something to come to our locker room before the game and give us a speech, puck drop, but waiting and cheering us on and really pay attention to the hockey game. He said it was his first ever and supporting us and hanging out with us and taking pictures and going to the family room and meeting our family members, it’s pretty impressive. These things go a long way and will definitely be something we remember for a long time and obviously very grateful he took time out of his busy schedule and came down and really show, um, maybe a side fans aren’t really used to seeing but that’s very nice of him that he did this and gave us a little emotional boost.”
Brad Marchand
“He’s an incredible guy. Very energetic, but he was humble. He was very happy to be here, he expressed that, he was very engaged with everyone, he was a great person. It was an honor to meet him, it was great to have him here. The whole city enjoyed it, we enjoyed it, it’s something we will remember.”
Steven Kampfer
“Yeah, it was awesome. I was a big fan before and meeting him before and after the game made me even more of a fan I think. He kind of jacked up the room a little more than usual so it was good to meet him and good to play and I was glad that we got a win in front of him so glad his Boston experience was a good one.”
