Lucic has no excuses for struggles in Vancouver

VANCOUVER -- Local boy Milan Lucic hopes this is not his last game at Rogers Arena this season.

If Boston can't find a way to force a Game 7 back here on Wednesday, the Bruins' power forward will spend the summer ruing what could have been in Friday's Game 5, a 1-0 loss to the Canucks that puts Vancouver just one win away from winning the first Cup in franchise history.

Boston now must win two games in the next five nights to claim the Stanley Cup. To do that, Lucic, a Vancouver native, says he and the Bruins have to play better than they did Friday night.

In 19:59 of ice time, Lucic did not manage a shot on net. He was also on the ice for the game's only goal, a Maxim Lapierre putback of an errant shot from the point.

Here is some of what Lucic said after the most disappointing loss of the Bruins postseason:

Q: How do you explain not being ready for a game like this?

A: I don't know. There are no excuses when it comes down to this point. I can't really explain it.

Q: Can you explain the difference in your play between road and home performances?

A: It seems like both teams have been able to use the home-ice advantage to their favor and use the crowd to their advantage. (Coach) Claude (Julien) talked about it, and we talked about bringing our game with us. We had it at spurts, but we didn't have it for a full 60 minutes

Q:  Did you let Roberto Luongo settle in a little too much after some tough games.

A: Yeah, for sure. We feel like he was able to see a lot of pucks. He's a world-class goaltender and if he sees it he is going to stop it.

Q: Do you put your line in that group of players that could have been better?

A: For sure. Especially for myself, it's not good enough to come out of a game like this with no shots on goal. You got to find a way to play big in big games. Like I said, there is no excuses for myself and as a line, we need to find a way to be better going into the next game.

Q: Was the power play frustrating -- you had so many chances?

A: We've got to find a way when we get opportunities on the power play. There were some chances, but it's not good enough just to get chances, you got to bury them.

Q: This team has always been good when its back is up against the wall, and you can't get more up against the wall than this, can you?

A: We have always found a way to do things the hard way. This is something we have to find a way to do and dig deep to do. You work hard all year long to get to this point. Like I said, we just have to look at it as a positive and an opportunity (Monday night) to get one step closer.