No. 1 (West) VANCOUVER CANUCKS (54-19-9) vs. No. 3 (East) BOSTON BRUINS (46-25-11)
Stanley Cup Finals preview
June 1, 2011 at 5:03AM
How they got here: Vancouver beat No. 8 Chicago 4-3, No. 5 Nashville 4-2, and No. 2 San Jose 4-1. Boston beat No. 6 Montreal 4-3, No. 2 Philadelphia 4-0, and No. 5 Tampa Bay 4-3.
Playoff history: First meeting.
Vancouver: The Canucks were hosts for the lone meeting between these teams and lost 3-1 on Feb. 26. ... Making their first Finals appearance since losing to the Rangers in 1994, the Canucks are shooting for their first Stanley Cup title in their third trip. ... The two previous times a Canadian city hosted the Olympics (Montreal 1976 and Calgary 1988), the local NHL team won the Stanley Cup the following season. Vancouver is trying to make it 3-for-3 after it was the site of the 2010 Winter Games. ... Goaltender Roberto Luongo allowed 13 goals in the five-game conference final.
Boston: Vancouver native Milan Lucic scored the go-ahead goal in the Bruins' victory over the Canucks this season. ... The Bruins are in the Finals for the first time since 1990 and are seeking their first Stanley Cup title since 1972. Boston is 0-5 in the Finals since its last championship, losing to Canadian clubs four times -- twice each against Edmonton and Montreal. ... David Krejci has a team-high 10 goals ... Tim Thomas carries a 2.29 goals-against average into the Finals, the same number as Luongo.
Outlook: Canucks end long wait for themselves and all of Canada. Boston's title drought marches on. Canucks in 7.
IRA PODELL • Associated Press
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Widely known that Minnesota sports fans are among the most suffering in the nation, this holiday season has the chance to become special, given the recent success of the Vikings, Wolves, Lynx and Wild.
