BOSTON -- On Thursday, the Boston Bruins will begin their quest to defend the Stanley Cup.
It is a feat the players just down the hall of the TD Garden can relate to. The Boston Celtics, who share the arena with the Bruins, did the same just three years ago after winning the 2008 NBA Championship.
Celtics veteran Ray Allen is rooting for his hockey counterparts.
Im trying to get into it, he told CSNNE.com. Were too close not to be, almost sharing locker rooms. I know Bruins president Cam Neely pretty well, I play golf with him. What they did last year was incredible and I was happy for them. I keep saying I need to get to a game but I cant figure it out on the schedule since we run parallel with their schedule.
Prior to Sundays game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Allen had the book, Black and Gold: Four Decades of the Boston Bruins in Photographs in his locker, a recent gift from Bruins team photographer Steve Babineau.
Allen understands the hard work that goes into a team earning a book like that, and what it will take to gain another one.
Everybodys got to continue doing the same thing they did before, he said. The role players have to continue to be role players and know that its about the sacrifices they made and they have to continue to make them.
The Bruins will kick off the first round of the playoffs at the Garden against the Washington Capitals on Thursday, an off day for the Celtics as they travel to Toronto to begin a back-to-back-to-back road series on Friday.