“Yeah, you can feel it,’’ said strapping No. 1 left winger Milan Lucic, who arrived in town just 24 months ago, with the Black-and-Gold’s profile shallower than a tidal pool off Castle Island. “If you listen to the radio, if you read the papers, [the media] sets the bar pretty high . . . and the fans here always want the team to perform well every night. They expect a lot from us, the Patriots, the Red Sox, and it’s great to have those expectations pinned high.’’
Great, and perhaps daunting.
Despite the improved publicity and the widely acknowledged puck renaissance, the Bruins remain a team without a Stanley Cup since 1972 and owners of only one playoff series victory in the post-lockout era. After sweeping Montreal, 4-0, in Round 1 last spring, they suffered a vaudevillian pratfall in Round 2 against the Hurricanes. Victimized by their slow start in the series, they limped out of the postseason nine victories short of reclaiming a championship left vacant around here since the days of bell-bottom pants, Nehru jackets, muttonchop sideburns, and Citgo pumps that spilled out “regular’’ gas at 36.9 cents a gallon.
Now coach Claude Julien and his revivified bunch must find their way back to winning with last season’s metronomic regularity. Unlike last year, when many prognosticators figured they wouldn’t so much as land a playoff spot, the Bruins return to work amid lofty praise, even among some national media. For instance, ESPN The Magazine has them pen ciled in for the Cup final, a spot they haven’t reached since 1990. The august Hockey News predicts they’ll finish first again in the East, and lists Zdeno Chara (5), Tim Thomas (13), and Marc Savard (21) high in its annual rankings of the top 50 NHLers.
