This story originally ran in BruinsZone.com on June 15, 2011.

By Nick Tavares

This is it. With the stomachs of Bruins fans tied in knots, Boston will march into Vancouver to try to win their first Stanley Cup in 39 years (8 p.m. / TV: NBC, CBC / Radio: 98.5 FM).

And, breathe.

Recchi isn’t feeling the pressure

Give the man credit: 43-year-old Mark Recchi is saying all the right things leading into tonight’s game. The two-time Cup winner seemed at peace after Game 6 with the fact that this could very well be the last game of his career, and he seems confident that he and his teammates will go down swinging:

“… The biggest thing  is just embracing it.  This is what we dream of.  We’ve had pressure all year, pressure all through the playoffs.  It’s come down to one game. There  is  no pressure, go play, go out and have fun with this.  It’s what  you play for and what we’ve worked hard for all year.  We’re going to have a blast doing it.”

Recchi was a stable veteran presence in the Carolina locker room when the Hurricanes won the Cup in 2006. He’s hoping to reprise that role tonight.

And for continuity, goalie and Conn Smythe-candidate Tim Thomas seems to be feeling good as well. From the goaltender yesterday:

“I  can only speak for myself, but I’m not thinking of it as pressure. I’m  thinking  of  it more of this is the reality.  The series is tied 3-3; Game  7 tomorrow; we’re on the road; we have to find a way to win this game to get what we want, which we all know what that is..”

News and notes

David Krejci’s 5-on-3 goal in Game 6 to make the score 5-1 gives him 12 for this playoff season, which is tops in the league. He had 13 in the regular season. …

Thanks to two power-play goals in Game 6, no Bruin was better than a +1 and no worse than a 0. …

Thomas’ save percentage in the playoffs has been .937. In the regular season? .938. Conversely, Roberto Luongo put up a .928 mark in the regular season, but just a .916 so far in the playoffs. …

Keith Ballard is expected to get the nod tonight on the 5-6 defensive pair for Vancouver. …

Tonight’s lines

Don’t look for anything different from the Bruins, or a miracle comeback by Nathan Horton. Here are your guys tonight:

Forwards
17 Lucic … 46 Krejci … 49 Peverley
63 Marchand … 37 Bergeron … 28 Recchi
73 Ryder … 23 Kelly … 19 Seguin
20 Paille … 11 Campbell … 22 Thornton

Defense
33 Chara … 44 Seidenberg
21 Ference … 55 Boychuk
12 Kaberle … 54 McQuaid

Goal
30 Thomas
40 Rask

And … breathe.