Boston Bruins fans have longed to hear it, the Black & Gold are Stanley Cup Champions for the first time since 1972 and the good ole days of Bobby Orr.
Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas earned the shutout in Game 7, and is the first road goalie to get a shutout in a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Thomas earned himself two playoff records last night. His 37 saves have put him at 798 saves for the entire playoff season, a new record. He also had 238 saves in the Stanley Cup Finals series, also a new record.
Thomas wasn’t done there though as he earned the Conn Smythe trophy, awarded to the MVP of the playoffs. He is also a finalist and the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy in Vegas next week at the NHL awards. The Vezina goes to the leagues top goaltender for the regular season.
Is it more unbelievable that Tim Thomas was almost traded at last season’s trade deadline, and again in the off-season to make cap relief of all things? Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask was emerging as the starting goalie late in the season last year, and was the Bruins starting goaltender in the playoffs.
Thomas was not traded, and after Rask let in four goals in a 5-2 lose against the Coyotes in the first game of the season, Thomas followed this up by shutting out the Yotes in the second game of the season. Thomas claimed the starting spot from that point on and did not look back.
Thomas stat line playoffs: 16-9, GAA 1.98, SV% .940, SO 4
Thomas stat line regular season: 35-11-9, GAA 2.00, SV% .938, SO 9
Impressive season for Bergeron
Bruins alternate captain Patrice Bergeron had another concussion scare in the playoffs, but bounced back to help his team win the Stanley Cup. He had two goals in Game 7 against the Canucks, including the game winner. Bergeron finished the playoffs with six goals and 14 assists for 20 points. Only David Krejci (23 points) had more points than Bergeron in the playoffs on the Bruins. He was tied for third in the league in playoff points. Krejci was the leader.
Bergeron also had an excellent regular season finishing with 22 goals and 57 points. This marked the first time Bergeron hit the 20 goal plateau since the 2006-2007 season.
The rookie phoneme
Tyler Seguin impressed early in the Bruins season scoring on a breakaway in his second NHL game in Prague against the Coyotes. In 74 games he finished with 11 goals and 22 points. Although he did not score a ton, a lot of his goals were flashy or highlight reel goals. The Bruins hope this will lead to bigger things for number 19.
Seguin was scratched for the first two rounds of the playoffs, but worked his way into the line-up when Bergeron missed two games with a concussion against Tampa. Seguin went off in the first two games of the Tampa series. He scored a goal and added an assist in the losing effort during game one. Then, he followed that up by single handedly leading the B’s past the Bolts in game two with two goals and two assists. He was a PPP (Point Per Period) player through the first two games of the Tampa Series.
He slowed down throughout the rest of the playoffs only adding one more point. He was even scratched again, but then returned after Nathan Horton went down with a severe concussion. He finished the playoffs with seven points in 13 games. It is fair to say that without Seguin the Bruins probably don’t make it to the cup finals, and get past the Bolts in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Legend of Marshmont
What a little pest Brad Marchand was to the Sedin twins in the playoffs. Punching Daniel four times in a row in front of the net during Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Daniel was crying to the referee for a penalty, because he was not willing to stand up for himself and fight back.
Marchand finished third on the team in playoff points with 11 goals and 19 points total. Marchand a rookie also had an exceptional regular season with 21 goals and 41 points overall. He was always known as an agitator type player in Providence for the baby B’s, but what is amazing is the Bruins had him slotted him on the fourth line to begin the season... Wow how things change. This kid is now a top six NHL forward.
Marchand stands at 5 foot 9 inches, but he plays as if he is well over six feet. Always getting in the opposing teams faces. He is like Sean Avery, without being a head case and is actually a very talented hockey player.
Recchi Retires
Mark Recchi has officially retired from the NHL after winning his third Stanley Cup. Recchi will make the Hall of Fame in the upcoming years. Retirement article in the next few days.
Written by:
