McQuaid getting rest amid attention from Final

Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid is already a veteran of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including winning a Stanley Cup title with the Bruins in 2011 and approaching 50 postseason games for his career before his 27th birthday.

This postseason, McQuaid, 26, has been a staple of Boston's third defensive pairing, providing a shut-down presence for Claude Julien. In the Eastern Conference Final, McQuaid scored the series-winning goal in a stunning four-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

McQuaid has been gracious enough to agree to keep a player blog that will appear on NHL.com throughout the Stanley Cup Final.

In his third installment, he talks about the intense media scrutiny of the Final and what he and his teammates have been doing during the two off days between Game 1 and Game 2 on Saturday night.

The first couple of days during the Stanley Cup Final have been a bit different. Obviously, there is a lot more media and a lot more people. In Boston, we always have media around, but now there is just a little bit more. But I guess that is all part of this. As you move along, it seems like there is more and more media. That just becomes part of your routine and you get used to that. We're lucky that we have seen that before so we know what to expect as far as that is concerned.

I'm not going to say I love or hate all the media attention. I'm kind of indifferent. If there are people that want to talk to me about something, obviously I have no problem doing it. But if no one wants to talk to me, I'm completely fine with that too. I know that there are some guys that seem to talk to the media more often than other guys, but it is more their personalities.

Media Day on Tuesday wasn't too bad for me. The last time we were at this point, I only had one person talk to me on Media Day and this time I had two or three people talk to me. So, it wasn't too bad for me, but there are other guys that have to do multiple interviews and I'm sure it is more taxing for them. It's all part of the experience and everyone knows that and expects that.

We've had a couple of days off in Chicago now before Game 2, but things have been pretty normal. It's not like we are visiting a city. Most guys might go for a walk or maybe walk to the place you are going to have dinner, but most guys are trying to relax. When you get some time to yourself, you want to just relax and not do much. There's plenty of time to do that stuff when the season ends. I think right now, you have to find that balance. At times, you want to get that mental break to get away and not think about hockey for a bit. That's kind of hard this time of year as it is always in the back of your mind.

I think that is OK, though, because you don't want to forget where you are at and the opportunity that you have because it doesn't come around too often. You may never get this chance again, and it takes a lot of hard work just to get to this point and you don't want it to be all for naught.

You spend a lot of time at the rink or in the team hotel when you are on the road at this time of year. I don't think guys mind that this time of year though. Take a day like today; by the time we get out of here, get back to the hotel and relax for a couple of hours, we'll be ready for dinner. There will probably be a few groups that will go to dinner in different places and again just enjoy each other's company, have a few laughs and have a good meal before we get back to the hotel early and rest up for tomorrow.

I haven't been recognized by too many Chicago fans really. But, when they do, they've been real friendly. They obviously make their point of who they are cheering for, but with that being said, they've been real friendly too.

Thanks for checking out the blog and come back after Game 2 for the next installment.