Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals was held Wednesday night in Vancouver.
Somebody forgot to tell the Canucks.
Patrice Bergeron & Brad Marchand each scored two goals while Tim Thomas stopped all 35 shots he faced as the Bruins won their 1st Stanley cup in 39 years defeating Vancouver 4-0 to win the series 4 games to 3.
Both teams played tentative at the start of the game. The Bruins scored the 1st goal of the game when Bergeron took a pass from Marchand and fired it past Roberto Luongo before anybody realized what happened.
The score would stay that way until 12:13 of the 2nd period when Brad Marchand back handed a wraparound that was deflected in by Roberto Luongo giving the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
At that point concern started to set in at Rogers Arena with Canuck fans feeling the Stanley Cup was slipping away.
Vancouver did receive a power play late in the 2nd period and had a chance to get back in the game if they could score a goal.
Instead a favorable bounce for the Bruins lead to a shorthanded breakaway by Bergeron that ended with the puck trickling by Luongo as he was taken down giving the Bruins a 3-0 lead.
Vancouver would come hard at the Bruins in the 3rd period as they tried to rally but Thomas would come up big turning away all 16 shots he faced.
Marchand would score an empty net goal to make it 4-0 and the only thing left to do was let the celebration begin.
This Stanley Cup win for the Bruins was long overdue. Not only does it end the 2nd longest drought in the NHL but quiets playoff failures of the past.
It quiets the Boston Bruins of the late 70's that couldn't get past Montreal. It quiets the Bruins teams from 1988 & 1990 that couldn't overcome the Edmonton Oilers.
It quiets The Bruins teams from 1991 & 1992 that reached the Conference Finals only to be eliminated by Mario Lemieux & the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It quiets the Bruins teams from 2000-2001 that missed the playoffs leading to Ray Bourque being traded so he could win his Stanley Cup. It quiets the Bruins teams from 2002-2004 that returned to the post-season only to underachieve & be knocked out by Montreal.
It quiets the Bruins teams after the lockout that reached the playoffs with big things expected from them only to lose Game 7's on home ice to Carolina & Philadelphia in 2009 & 2010.
When the Flyers eliminated Boston last year I suggested the Bruins should fire Claude Julien & strip Zdeno Chara of the captaincy. This win justifies the Bruins faith in both of them.
This win also solidifies Tim Thomas as a big time goaltender in the NHL. Thomas had been a journeyman for most of his career before joining the Bruins.
He had won the starting job in 2009 only to lose it one year later. Thomas reclaimed the job at the start of the season and never looked back.
Thomas finished the playoffs with a save percentage of .940 and a GAA of 1.98 and was the easy choice for the Conn Smythe Trophy.
I have had my doubts about the Bruins all season waiting for them to fail like they have in previously. Last night they proved me wrong. All I can do is take back what I previously wrote and congratulate them a job well done and a cup that is well deserved.
Congratulations to the Boston Bruins.
2010-2011 Stanley Cup Champions.
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