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Bruins emphasize mutual respect as Blackhawks rematch approaches

Bruins, Blackhawks

Chris Kelly #23 and Brad Marchand #63 and Tuukka Rask #40 of the Boston Bruins looks shake hands with the Chicago Blackhawks after being defeated in Game Six of the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 24, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (June 23, 2013 - Source: Jim Rogash/Getty Images North America)

The Boston Bruins would be lying if they denied that the 2013 Stanley Cup Final still stings, yet they also insist that there’s a lot of mutual respect between themselves and the Chicago Blackhawks. The two teams will face off for the first time this season on NBC Sunday, so those memories are bubbling back up.

... Which means those famous 17 seconds in which the Blackhawks locked up the series-clinching Game 6 will be hard to forget.

“I’ve replayed it in my mind 100 times since that moment,” Milan Lucic admitted to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Lazerus.

Even so, both Lucic and head coach Claude Julien spoke about the general lack of animosity for two teams that were in a well-played, high-profile playoff series. Patrick Kane relayed a similar story to Lazerus.

“A lot of them are respectful and come up and just say hi to you,” Kane said.

Despite those warm and fuzzy feelings, the Bruins probably want to win badly, even if it won’t erase the memory of that championship round defeat.

“It hurts still,” Patrice Bergeron said. “It hurts just to see that 2013 on the wall right there.”

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins