Stanley Cup Finals

**e-thug** · 05-28-2011, 12:10 PM

Preview:

Well, something has to give, right?

The Boston Bruins are in search of their first Stanley Cup title since 1972. The Vancouver Canucks are looking for their first NHL championship since entering the league in 1970. Plus, no Canadian team has won Lord Stanley's prize since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.

Either way, a long drought will end over the next two weeks.

The Bruins return to the finals for the first time since facing Edmonton in 1990, while the Canucks make their first trip since squaring off against the New York Rangers in 1994. In both years, Mark Messier ruined each team's Cup dreams.

To get to this year's Cup finals, the Bruins and Canucks survived first-round scares and needed seven games plus overtime to move on. But the script diverges in that the Canucks have been serious Cup contenders from day one of this season; they won the Presidents' Trophy as regular-season champs and are the decided favorites entering the Cup finals given their path through the superior Western Conference. The Bruins grew into the role of Cup contender this season and had to answer to critics after last spring's historical meltdown against Philadelphia.

Regardless, they both are competing for hockey's ultimate prize.