After waiting 39 long years for a title, the Boston Bruins finally got one after they defeated the Vancuver canucks in game 7 of the Stanley cup finals. The canucks, a team who were picked by almost every hockey and sports analyst to win the series were outperformed and in some games out worked by the Bruins players.
A major reason why the Bruins took home the cup was in large part because of the play of goalie Tim Thomas. Thomas was tremendus in every game of the finals. He kept them in the games they lost and he was a big factor in the games they won, all while outplaying his goalie counterpart Roberto Luongo. Thomas had the Vancuver canucks constanly guessing when and how they could score on him , and made it very difficult for the canuck players to score at all, stopping all but a few goals that came his way.
While Thomas was great and a big reason why they won the stanley cup finals, as we know it takes a team to win a championship and there were other key contributors to the Bruins coming out on top. Defensemen Zdeno Chara and Tomas Kaberle were a big part in the team’s success as well, giving Thomas the help he needed all throughout the series with their great Lockdown, helping slow down the canucks great offensive players like the sedin twins and Ryan Kessler. Brad Marchand was another very effective player for the Bruins in these finals as well and provided a well needed spark off the bench, providing the team with toughness and goal scoring.
While the Canucks had more skill and talent than the Bruins, they didn’t have the will to win that the Bruins displayed. The Bruins played like the hungrier of the two teams to win a title, and displayed more toughness and heart than the Canucks displayed. The Bruins are now champions for the sixth time in their franchises history and join the Celtics,Patriots and Red Sox as champions from the past 11 years to have brought a championship back home to the city of Boston.
