Last game thread my post was for spite. This one's for love.
Win it for Neely the cat. Win it for Haunted and his family. Win it for all we've lost along the way, and for those who are just joining us in this world.
But also, win it for each other. This team deserves to hoist the Stanley Cup, and Tuukka Rask has earned himself the Conn Smythe Trophy.
I must admit that back in December that I just about wrote this team off as being the fringe playoff contender they had been a couple years ago - that they were many pieces away from a true Cup run and were destined for another early exit. The memory of last year's squad and its dominance of the league in the regular season seemed like a flash in the pan, the result of career years from the likes of Riley Nash, Tim Schaller and Ryan Spooner.
But then the calendar turned to 2019 and it became increasingly clear with each passing game that this Bruins team was a force to be reckoned with. Sweeney found the perfect deadline pieces in Coyle and Johansson, filling in the last few deficiencies this team had from being a top tier contender. And they've since proven that to be true.
I hopped on the Bs bandwagon back in 2009 and I've never played the game myself, so my hockey expertise has a long ways to go, but this... this is the best Bruins team I've ever seen. They are the embodiment of professional hockey in the 21st century. They have a young, mobile defense corps that can both move the puck and protect the house and oh yea, a Hall of Famer in Zdeno Chara. They have four lines of forwards who mix skill and hard work to be a constant offensive threat, but who also play a defensively responsible game. Their special teams play is out of this world. They have a goaltender who is the definition of "fundamentally sound" playing at the top of his game. They've shown incredible depth as well, with a "next man up" mantra that has not failed them. And they have a coach and staff that have shown great wisdom in when to let things ride and when to change their approach.
And here we are at one game to win it all. Win it.
I love this team.