Boston Bruins: Stanley Cup Final opponent set in stone

It’s now set in stone, following the conclusion of the Western Conference final series, it’s been confirmed that the Stanley Cup Final will be a rematch of 1970; the Boston Bruins will face-off against the St. Louis Blues.

The St. Louis Blues had to go to six games to defeat a battered and bruised San Jose Sharks line-up, ending the potential for ‘Jumbo’ Joe Thornton to encounter the team that drafted him, in a Stanley Cup Final. Their path was certainly a little harder than the four-game sweep that the Boston Bruins pulled off in the Eastern Conference final over the Carolina Hurricanes.

This whole season for the St. Louis Blues has been a tremendous triumph; the fact they even made the playoffs is mind-blowing considering they were sitting dead last in the league for much of the early going.

Their head coach Craig Berube certainly has managed to turn things around considerably. The Winnipeg Jets pushed them in their opening play-off round, as did the Dallas Stars but neither were able to crack the other story of their season; rookie goaltender and Calder Trophy finalist,  Jordan Binnington.

Compare that to the Boston Bruins, who realistically knew they’d be facing the Toronto Maple Leafs in their opening play-off series for almost two months prior to the match-up itself. Of course, round two was surprising as everyone was expecting it to be the Tampa Bay Lightning that they had to next get through, but instead it was the Columbus Blue Jackets they put away in six.

Finally, such has this season panned out, nobody expected the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final, but that happened too.

Now we get set for a rematch of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final that created one of the most iconic images in Boston Bruins, let alone National Hockey League history – Bobby Orr flying through the air after netting the overtime winner that saw the Stanley Cup head back to Boston!

Since that fateful final game of that 1970 Stanley Cup Final series, the St. Louis Blues have never came as close to the trophy. They’ve never been back to a Stanley Cup Final until now. The Boston Bruins, on the other hand, went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1972 and again in 2011, as well as coming up short in the final as recently as 2013.

It’s safe to say that the Boston Bruins have a far stronger pedigree and in fact, have more than a few players, that have actually been all the way to the Stanley Cup Final once before.

Whether this proves to be the difference-maker, only time will tell. The opening game kicks off on May 27th from TD Garden; the Boston Bruins will no doubt be absolutely raring to go – expect an appearance on the night from Bobby Orr too. Surely!