Brophy on Bruins: Earning Stanley

I have to admit, I’m still having a tough time believing the Boston Bruins are the Stanley Cup champions.

Not saying they don’t deserve it – not by a long shot. The Bruins earned it. When you lose the first two games of the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs at home and then have to head to Montreal to compete before one of the most enthusiastic crowds you’ll ever see (or hear!), and then came back to win the series, you kind of deserve a little credit.

The Bruins did it with their physical play, including a little intimidation that didn’t always sit well with the opposition, or their fans. They did it with great coaching. They did it with players stepping up to fill unfamiliar roles. They did it with unbelievable goaltending.

More than anything, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup because they wanted it more than the other 29 teams. And they were willing to pay the price.

This is a team that lost its best offensive player, Marc Savard, and didn’t miss a step. It lost a solid goal-scorer in Nathan Horton in the Stanley Cup final, a kid who was finally emerging as a go-to guy, and kept pushing forward. It traded a quality prospect along with a first and second-round draft pick for a veteran defenceman, Tomas Kaberle, who brought little-to-nothing to the table.

And yet they won the Cup…

…Or as they are probably saying in Boston: THEY WON THE CUP!!!!

No Shore. No Orr. No Espo.

And no Neely, on the ice that is. However, his steely-eyed glares from the press box when things weren’t going well I’m sure inspired the guys who had to walk past him in the hallways of the TC Garden.

When you look back to the Stanley Cup champions of recent years, they were all predictable. Chicago won last season. Sure the Blackhawks hadn’t won since Bobby Hull had hair, but they weren’t exactly surprise winners, where they? Not with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Marian Hossa.

The Penguins (2009), Red Wings (2008) and Ducks (2007) were also solid bets to come out on top, so there was really no surprise when they emerged as Cup winners.

But the Bruins?

This was supposed to be the year Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals made amends for losing in the first round last season. It was supposed to be the year the San Jose Sharks finally lived up to expectations. It was supposed to be the year the Philadelphia Flyers made up for losing in the final last year.

Few suggested it was the year the Bruins would win their first Stanley Cup since 1972.

The Bruins were chokers. Nobody doubted their competitiveness, but they had a penchant for gagging at the most critical moment. Up 3-0 against Philly in the second round last year, and then ahead 3-0 in Game 7 in that series, and they lost the game – and the series. When they fell behind 2-0 in the first two games of the playoffs this year, Bruins fans had to be wondering if they were in for more of the same kind of misery.

Didn’t turn out that way.

They say the other 29 teams often try to model themselves after the Stanley Cup winner. Somehow, I doubt that will happen next year. No disrespect to the new champs, but really, what was there about the Bruins that other teams will gravitate to?

By the way, this is a trick question.

Give up?

The answer is simple: Work ethic.

That’s what makes this title so unique. It is what should make the sixth…or seventh…or eighth place finishers in the Eastern and Western Conferences next season believe they have a chance to win.

This was truly a very special Stanley Cup playoffs. It wasn’t 1994, the Rangers winning their first Stanley Cup in 54 years in a nail-biter of a final, but it sure was close. It was the best final since ’94.

Normally at this time of year, many are happy to hear the final buzzer sound. Whether it’s to golf, or fishing, no doubt the hockey season is a long one. Hockey, the NHL specifically, has some work to do in terms of how the game is officiated and how it will make the work place more player-friendly, without sacrificing too much of the physicality that draws fans to the sport.

But for all its problems, this year’s Stanley Cup final was as gripping as it gets.