Cam Neely On Felger & Mazz: Bruins Can't Take Red Wings Lightly In First Round
Cam Neely joined Felger & Massarotti on Thursday, one day before the Bruins finally drop the puck on the 2014 postseason.
The Bruins president was proud of the team winning the President's Trophy as the best team in the regular season, calling it "a hell of an accomplishment." But Neely said the team is "after that other trophy," the one awarded to the team that proves to be the best during the long and grueling postseason.
That begins Friday night for the B's, who know the Red Wings will present a number of challenges in the first round.
"They're a good team," Neely said of Detroit. "They're well-coached, they're disciplined, they've got some good speed that obviously we're aware of. It's not going ot be an easy series for us. We understand that and we're prepared for that."
Neely said the Bruins' main goal will be to get pucks in deep and work the cycle game in the Detroit end of the ice while being cautious to avoid turning the puck over at the blue line.
"They can get going the other way pretty quick," Neely said.
As far as his overall feeling about his team heading into the postseason, Neely said he feels confident but still understands that nothing is guaranteed in the NHL playoffs.
"As we all know, a lot of things need to go your way to win the Cup," Neely said. "Obviously [you need] a really good team, some luck along the way, maybe a series here or there that goes a different way so your path ends up being a little different than maybe what you thought it might have been mapped out to be, staying healthy. All those things are a huge factor. Because when you're playing every other night in the playoffs and how it gets ramped up, you need some luck along the way along with a good team."
For the Bruins, getting where they want to go will come from focusing on their own game.
"I don't want to sound like a broken record and cliché-ish, it's more about we know how we have to play to be successful. If we really stick to that and we do the little things that we need to do to help our team play well -- and that's from the goaltender on out, line after line, D pair after D pair -- that's what we have to focus on.
"We have to focus on what makes us good, what makes us successful, and following the things throughout the game that help us become a better team throughout that game and win."
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