VANCOUVER, British Columbia - For nearly four decadesLink, the Boston Bruins led a losing battle of futility and sorrow. Five times they had reached the Stanley Cup final and had not lifted the silver chalice in triumph. On Wednesday evening, after 39 years, the Bruins became the NHL champions.
Patrice Bergeron scored twice - once shorthanded while being driven along fold Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo - and rookie sensation Brad Marchand added a pair of beauties.
Tim Thomas, the Conn Smythe winner as MVP in the playoffs, the spearhead 4-0 win in Boston over the Canucks in Game 7 to Rogers Arena with a 37-save shutout, his second of the series . Was the first time a road team won a Game 7 shutout in NHL history.
The 6-foot 9-inch defenseman Zdeno Chara became the first Bruins captain to lift the Cup since Johnny Bucyk he skated on the ice of Madison Square Garden in 1972.
Finally, the fans cheering Bruins will have a duck boat parade from them, joining their fellow patriots (2001, 2003 and 2004), the Red Sox (2004 and 2007) and Celtics (2008).
The Bruins became the first N.H.L. team win the Stanley Cup with three victories in seven games one year playoff. They beat the Montreal Canadiens in the first round and the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals. They were also the first team to win a road game in this wicked, glittering sets
While the Bruins fans celebrated another continent, Canucks fans looked on in silence stunned before breaking into a brief chant of consolation "Go Canucks Go!"
Tens of thousands of fans watched the Vancouver downtown outdoor screens, 17 years and one day after the Canucks last trip to the finals ended with a Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers. After Wednesday's game, riots broke out. A car and a truck were set ablaze and several fires broke out when police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The riots were similar to the disturbances that broke out in Vancouver in 1994 after the Canucks lost that game 7.
Thomas was magnificent in the playoffs, especially in the playoffs. His first stop in the game 7 to 1 disc designed by Christophe Tanev - was his 762nd in the playoffs, beating the record set by former Vancouver goalie Kirk McLean in 1994.
"It's literally a dream come true," said Thomas. "At 37 years, which may have been my only shot, and I am so happy that I could enjoy it."
Thomas said he told Luongo in the handshake line that "it was a great goalie, just for the record, good work, good year."
Thomas, who grew up poor in Flint, Michigan - his parents pawned their wedding rings to pay the way to school custodian, and at one point that he and his family sold fruit on the roadside for supplement their income - has played for years in the minor leagues (Birmingham, Ala., and Houston) and Europe (Finland and Sweden) before getting a permanent job with the Bruins in 2005.
Now he is recognized as the best goalkeeper in the game. The parents of Thomas joined the Bruins on the ice to celebrate.
Luongo played well at home in the final (two goals in three previous matches) and miserably on the road (15 goals), but he is the victim of sublime objectives of the veteran Bergeron, who has overcome two serious concussions over the seasons and the five -9, Swift-skid ball Marchand aggravation.
Marchand set up the first goal, diving in to claim a loose puck after a faceoff in the first period at the end of Dipsy-doodle Vancouver and along the buffet to be released defenseman Sami Salo and centered the puck in a crowd of four men in the high slot.
Bergeron was among them, and he broke a house fire 14 minutes 37 seconds for his first goal of the series and fifth of the playoffs.
"We saw some videos when they won the Cup back in '70 and '72," said Bergeron. "This means so much to the city of Boston, and that means a lot to us, to know that we are part of that. "
At 12:13 of the second period Marchand dazzled once again, put the puck between the legs of defenseman Kevin Bieksa, racing behind the net and wrap it around the other side on his lapel. The puck trickled in just that Luongo got there.
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