CHICAGO — Sports is a funny business. One day, you can be viewing your team with an “us against the world” mentality. The next, you can find yourself on the other side of that world.
That’s the situation Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference finds himself in now. Since being acquired from the Calgary Flames at the tail end of the 2006-07 season, Ference has not only been the consummate team player, but also a confirmed Bostonian, diving head-first into living in the city, partaking in everything it has to offer. When asked about the effect the Boston Marathon bombings had on the city, as many out-of-town writers have these past few days, he answers as a Bostonian first and a Bruin second.
But with Ference’s contract up after this season, and the B’s facing salary cap constraints moving forward while boasting a number of young defensemen as cheaper alternatives, it’s very conceivable Ference could be signing with another team when free agency opens on July 5.
All you have to do is look at the needs of vanquished opponents Toronto or Pittsburgh, or perhaps a young team such as Edmonton, to know that his veteran savvy on the blue line is quite a marketable commodity.
Was it difficult to put that prospect out of his mind as he embarked on the Stanley Cup finals with the Bruins?
“That’s why you have an agent. That’s his job to worry about that stuff,” Ference, 34, said with a laugh as he prepared for Game 1 yesterday morning. “Obviously, throughout the year, (the uncertainty) is harder on my wife and kids than it is on me. I’ve got the distraction of hockey. Having to worry about schools and stuff, wondering where you going to live or whether you can stay with your friends here (in Boston) or you have to find new ones, it’s harder on them than me. That part of it sucks.
“But at the end of the day, everybody knows the type of life we live and nobody’s going to feel sorry for us.”
Considering what could be awaiting him, is he relishing this time in the finals any more than he might normally?
“Honestly, I’m living in the moment,” said Ference. “I honestly feel the same way I did every other year. I haven’t let it enter my thoughts that I wouldn’t be here next year. Obviously, my feelings are that I want to be and everybody knows that, so that’s Plan A. Plan B doesn’t hold a whole lot of property in my head right now. It’s honestly not that different a feeling right now.”
Krug’s stitch in time
Torey Krug grew up in Livonia, Mich., and for him to play the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup finals is a little like a New England kid being able to play the Montreal Canadiens.
“I was a big fan of the Detroit Red Wings, so I didn’t like the Chicago Blackhawks very much,” the rookie defenseman said. “But as much as I was a fan of the Detroit Red Wings, I was a fan of hockey, too, and (Chicago) has produced a lot of great hockey teams.”
As he spoke, Krug’s lower lip was still being held together by the nine stitches he received after he was run by the Penguins’ Beau Bennett in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals last week. Proving his mettle, he got repaired on the bench and, on his next shift, went back to the same corner and held his ground to move the puck with the Pittsburgh forecheck bearing down on him.
“I actually think that got me going,” Krug said of the hit that cut him. “It gave me a kick in the behind and it got me started. From there I was able to play with a lot of energy. When you have something like that in your face, it’s kind of sore but you don’t really think about it. It kind of gets you in the moment, you’re there and you’re ready to play.”
Two fast starters
Coming in, the Bruins and Blackhawks had gone a combined 6-0 this postseason in series openers.
With last night’s 4-3 triple-overtime win, the Blackhawks would now appear to have a huge leg up. Since the league went to the seven-game format in 1939, the team that won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals has gone on to claim the championship in 56-of-73 seasons. The B’s were one of the 17 teams to buck the trend, when they dropped the first two games to Vancouver in 2011 and came back to win it. Now, they have to try and do it again. . . .
Commissioner Gary Bettman, who had become the object of many fans’ ire during the lockout, confirmed that he will indeed still be handing out the Stanley Cup when the time comes.