Bruins win Stanley Cup

Last night the Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years by defeating the Vancouver Canucks, 4-0, in game seven of the finals. The Bruins victory was a rarity in several respects: only twice before has a visiting hockey team won a game seven (last night's game was played in Vancouver) and never before had a hockey team won three game sevens en route to a Stanley Cup victory. In this series, the home team had won each of the first six games so that also weighed against Boston. But Boston seemed to have more energy, to be better conditioned. When the third period began, I thought to myself, here comes the desperate all-out attack by Vancouver but the Canucks never gained any momentum and so the Bruins prevailed. Nationally, much of the media attention today is focused on the post-game rioting in Vancouver and not the game itself. Here in Boston, however, it's all about the Bruins and their great accomplishment.