Bruins Honor Super Bowl Champion Patriots

BOSTON - There was plenty to celebrate on Tuesday night at TD Garden, as the Black & Gold faithful got the chance to offer their appreciation to Patrice Bergeron during his 1,000th career game. But Bergeron was more than happy to share the spotlight, as the Bruins welcomed the Super Bowl LIII champion New England Patriots to honor them for their 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in Atlanta.
"Thank God. That was perfect. I was very happy with that," Bergeron, who potted two goals, said with a smile. "It was awesome. There was so many of them too. It was actually great to see. They came in the locker room before the game and we told them, obviously, we were cheering for them and it was an amazing ride again this year. I thought that the crowd was really into it and that set the tone for a great night."

A large contingent of Patriots made the trip, including center David Andrews, defensive backs Devin and Jason McCourty, linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy, owner Robert Kraft, and Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman, who spiked the ceremonial puck drop in a nod to Rob Gronkowski's famous puck spike after the Pats' Super Bowl XLIX victory.
"I think the energy was great," said Tuukka Rask, who made 28 saves. "That was a great atmosphere, it was awesome. Those guys stopped by the locker room before and gave us some energy, too, so it was good to see that. Here in Boston we try to stick together and support each other so I'm really happy for the Pats."
Before the game, the Patriots visited the Bruins dressing room, where they were feted by Zdeno Chara, who delivered a congratulatory message on behalf of the organization. Robert and Jonathan Kraft also met with Bruins president Cam Neely, general manager Don Sweeney, coach Bruce Cassidy, and the rest of the coaching staff.
"It's a great honor for us to be around those guys, their culture of winning," said Cassidy. "They look like they're having some fun doing it, which is important as well, so hopefully it rubs off on us a little bit. I think they're the franchise, probably every pro sport right now, that people would want to emulate in terms of winning and success. They've done it year after year.
"We're no different. We'd like to follow in their footsteps and get some championships for ourselves...the energy of the building, having them around, for me, I thought it was great. It was an honor to have those guys around. They looked like they were happy to be here, having a good time, as well they should."