| | DENVER -- Ray Bourque came to Colorado to win the Stanley Cup championship that has eluded him for more than 20 years. He's not about to let a minor injury get in his way.
Bothered by a sore groin, Bourque sat out the third period of Colorado's 8-3 victory over Calgary on Tuesday night but said he expects to be back on the ice Friday for a Northwest Division showdown in Edmonton.
|  | | Ray Bourque, left, is impressed by the talent level of his Avalanche teammates. |
"We were up by four, so in the third period I pulled back and just went in for treatment," Bourque said during a national conference call Wednesday. "It's nothing serious. I think I have a good chance to be playing on Friday night. It was just precautionary."
Bourque, who spent 20-plus seasons in Boston before Monday's trade, reiterated his excitement at the chance to win a Stanley Cup, and he showered his new teammates with compliments.
"There's so much talent here. I've never played with a team that had this much talent up front," Bourque said. "And obviously you look between the pipes, when you have Patrick (Roy) behind you, it's a pretty secure feeling. I think it's going to be real enjoyable to play here."
After dispatching Calgary in an important division game, the Avalanche have a chance to regain sole possession of first place with a victory at Edmonton.
The Oilers and Avalanche play three games against one another in the season's final four weeks, but Bourque is looking at the schedule for personal reasons as well.
"Mostly just to look if there are any openings in terms of my family traveling or myself maybe going back (to Boston) for a little bit," he said. "That was more of why I looked at it than actually who we were playing."
Bourque also responded to an East Coast report quoting him as saying Boston players are unhappy with the Bruins and that ownership is not helping matters.
"What I might have said is the Bruins right now I don't think are going to be competing for a Cup," Bourque said. "I think it's going to take a few years. They've got a nice nucleus of young talent that they have to build around ... but to compete for a Cup, I don't think that's going to happen for a little while." | |
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 Ray Bourque has taken a liking to his new teammates.
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Ray Bourque is ready to make a run at the Cup with Colorado.
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Ray Bourque explains his final goodbye to his Boston teammates.
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GM Harry Sinden will have fond memories of Bourque as a Bruin.
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Avs GM Pierre Lacroix says Bourque and Andreychuk will be the perfect fit.
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Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe sees the trade as a great opportunity for Bourque.
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Don Sweeney will miss Bourque, but wishes him well.
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