The Boston Bruins lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in a rather resounding fashion. After such a loss, a feeling of devastation is understandable. The players cannot find any sort of consolation and cheer after that game.
But it had to be. When there is Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, someone has to lose it. That’s why this sport is so beautiful on one end and then sucks so much at the other. If you want to see every team in the NHL getting it’s Stanley Cup each and another year, it would take 31 (soon to be 32) years for all the teams to touch it once. The Boston Bruins have been in the Cup Final three times in the last eight years.
Before this feat, the Bruins couldn’t witness an Eastern Conference Final visit for 17 years. With the attempt to break it up, they even blew a 3-0 series lead and then a 3-0 lead in Game 7 at home in 2010 against the Philadelphia Flyers. The path to glory is always painful. Just go and ask the St. Louis Blues and the city of St. Louis.
Let’s be completely honest here. The Bruins blew Game 7, nobody showed up for that contest. But that´s not the reason why they lost the Stanley Cup. They had similar games in Game 2 and Game 5. They had Game 4 after scoring seven goals and maybe denting the Blues defense. You can go out and salvage your season in Game 7, but that was a long shot for the Bruins.
After the game, players looked rocked. Brad Marchand and David Krejci talked about the worst losses, and games, of their careers. Charlie McAvoy was speechless, Jake Debrusk as well. Charlie Coyle was left in tears. David Backes could have smashed his car outside TD Garden seeing a team he left three years ago winning the Stanley Cup.
Pure frustration and devastation, it’s all over and the Bruins missed on the biggest opportunity of their lives. Is it that bad though? Absolutely not.
Everyone, who is reading these notes, please ask yourself: “Did I expect the Boston Bruins to be one win away from the Stanley Cup before the season or playoffs?” If your response is “NO!”, then you are a part of the majority of the Bruins fans.
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Stop talking about how Boston has to win everything. The Boston Bruins were on the brink of missing the playoffs for three straight seasons just 26 months ago. Now they were this close from winning the Stanley Cup. Once again, to be completely honest, this run was unexpected and it came ahead of the plan. Before winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, it took the Boston Bruins three quality seasons ending in a disappointment after a rebuild.
This was just the third, maybe only the second good season the Boston Bruins enjoyed after a short rebuild on the fly. Appreciation to the General Manager Don Sweeney. If the Stanley Cup is about to happen with this group, it’s on next, it’s coming.
“I have lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in a nightmare fashion. Now I will die for not going through this again and to celebrate the next time.”
That’s something, what the majority of the Bruins young players can say. McAvoy, DeBrusk, Coyle, Danton Heinen, Brandon Carlo, Sean Kuraly, David Pastrnak, Matt Grzelcyk and we could continue.
This Game 7 will probably not show anything new to the veterans like Zdeno Chara or Patrice Bergeron, they already know why losing sucks and how sweet is to get the reward after that pain. Just look at how they responded after that 2010’s mess against the Flyers. For the other players, especially young ones, this is their “Flyers’ lesson”.
Devastated? Understandable.
Crushed? Normal.
Washed out? Right.
But that was immediately after the game. From now on, hold your heads up Bruins.
You have come all the way through and I can guarantee you – after such a loss, seeing your name eventually crisped on the Stanley Cup will be a much more satisfying feeling. Just don’t give up.