WILMINGTON — The Chicago Blackhawks haven’t played at the Garden since a 76-second stretch that was among the most shocking and heartbreaking in Bruins history.

The stunning details are known too well by the B’s and their fans. It was Game 6 of last year’s Stanley Cup finals, the Bruins holding a 2-1 lead late in the third period and set to send the series back to Chicago for Game 7.

But the Blackhawks scored twice in the final 1:16 to win, 3-2, and give the season a dream conclusion. For the Bruins, it was a nightmare, and they will be reminded of it tonight when Chicago comes to town.

“It’ll probably bring some good memories for them,” B’s goalie Tuukka Rask said yesterday.

Winger Brad Marchand didn’t want to remember.

“That’s in the past,” he said. “It’s obviously a bad memory, something you want to block out.”

The late Chicago goals by Bryan Bickell (18:44) and Dave Bolland (19:01) deprived the hockey world of what promised to be a special Game 7. It was a special series, even if it did end with a stunning collapse.

“It was two good teams playing well,” forward Chris Kelly said. “It came pretty close to going seven. They’re a good team. They play well and they’ve got some real elite players, guys if you give them a little bit of ice they can take advantage of it.

“I thought it was a nice combination of skill and grit in that final.”

The Bruins feel differently about Chicago than they do about the Vancouver Canucks, whom they vanquished to win the Cup in 2011. While the B’s clearly don’t like the Canucks, they hold the Blackhawks in high regard.

“I guess there’s been respect between these two teams,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “They’re a great team. They play the game the right way. We’d like to think that we do as well. It makes for a good matchup. It makes for exciting hockey. It just shows that you don’t need all the extracurricular stuff to make it a good game.

“These two teams have been a real good matchup. In the playoffs last year it was really fun hockey to watch. It was a fun series to coach. Hopefully we don’t disappoint anyone.”

Julien said his team cares less about the rematch aspect and more about facing another strong opponent.

“We’ve played them already in Chicago (a 3-2 shootout loss Jan. 19), (so) that part of (the rivalry) is gone,” Julien said. “It’s going to be fun to play another team that we know is a great team. Right now we need to continue to get these challenges that we’re getting. That’s going to keep us on our toes.

“We’re not looking for any easy games. That doesn’t suit us. . . . Nobody in our dressing room is going to forget that we played them last year. But (tonight) is not about remembering that as much as knowing it’s going to be a good game between two good teams.”

The Bruins had their 12-game winning streak snapped with Monday’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Canadiens. Facing the speedy and offensive-minded Blackhawks (42-16-15), who will enter the playoffs as a favorite in the West, the B’s merely want to play a strong all-round game.

“It’s more about this year and continuing (to play) the way we are,” Marchand said. “It’s a big game, and the fans are going to be excited for it. But we’re more concerned with how we’re going to play and continuing to do the same things we have the past 13 games.”

The Bruins expect a fast-paced, attacking game from Chicago stars like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa. The key will be to control the pace of the play by getting pucks deep and forechecking effectively.

“A lot of that has to do with playing with the puck,” winger Milan Lucic said. “The forecheck is going to be big, getting on pucks, puck possession, puck management. If we can control that, we can control (the game) at the pace we want to play at.”

Lucic feels it’s important to focus on those things throughout the final 10 games, not just tonight.

“You can feel the excitement (about the looming playoffs) around the city,” he said. “We’re excited for these last 10 games. We’re not saying, ‘Lets get it over with and get the playoffs started.’ We want to have a good last 10 games, to where we’re feeling good about ourselves heading into the playoffs.”

The Bruins will be feeling mighty good if they can knock off the Blackhawks.

“This is the time of year you want to be playing these type of games,” Lucic said. “Playoff-type games.”