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Talbot eager to face Canadiens in playoffs

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- It didn’t take long for Boston Bruins newcomer Maxime Talbot to make his presence felt.

Acquired just prior to Monday’s trade deadline, the 11-year NHL veteran and Stanley Cup winner (with Pittsburgh in 2009) announced Wednesday his intentions for the Bruins -- to beat the Montreal Canadiens.

A Quebec native, Talbot grew up just over the bridge from Montreal. He understands the rivalry between the Bruins and Canadiens. He also realizes the Bruins have struggled against the Canadiens the past couple of seasons, including a second-round loss to Montreal in the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring.

Montreal also swept the regular-season series, 4-0. In fact, Boston has only one win in its past 11 games against Montreal, including six straight losses at TD Garden. While it’s obvious the Canadiens are messing with the Bruins’ psyche, Talbot believes his new team's luck is about to change.

“Hopefully I can help this team turn it around and I would love to play them in the playoffs,” he said. “I know they’re a great team, obviously, and they’ve showed it throughout this year and last year, but it’s a rivalry that’s worth playing in and you remember when your [career] is done. You’re like, ‘These games were awesome,’ and hopefully I can be part of those.”

Maybe Talbot’s enthusiasm will be infectious, but coach Claude Julien seemed a bit guarded talking about the newcomer’s comments about beating the Canadiens.

“It means he’s a new guy and hasn’t been around much, right?” Julien said with a smile.

When the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, assistant captain Patrice Bergeron brought the Cup home to Quebec, and Talbot witnessed firsthand what it meant to those who attended Bergeron’s celebration.

Now Talbot wants to return to Montreal in the summer bragging about a win over the Canadiens in the playoffs.

Talbot followed the Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques as a boy, but said he was not a die-hard fan of either team. He was 9 years old when the Canadiens most recently won the Stanley Cup, in 1993.

Because tickets were too expensive, Talbot said he attended only one game at the old Montreal Forum, and he has never watched a game as a fan at Bell Centre.

He claims he has never had a true hatred for the Bruins, but he knows all about the rivalry. “There was never really any hatred and now it’s certainly love for sure,” Talbot said.

During his career he has played for both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers, who make up another one of the best rivalries in the NHL.

“Penguins-Flyers is one of the good ones, but Montreal-Boston is the best one around the league,” Talbot said.

It was only Talbot’s first day with the Bruins, but his new teammates know exactly the type of player he is and how he can help in Boston.

“He’s a guy who will give everything he can and he’s got a lot of character and personality,” Bruins forward Daniel Paille said. “In other words, he has that Bruins mentality where he’s going to give it everything he can.”