The Stanley Cup Final Is Finally Here, But Bruins Treating Monday Like Any Other Day
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins have been waiting for this day for what has felt like a lifetime. On Monday night, the puck will finally drop on Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in Boston.
Still, the Bruins are treating today like any other day during the season, or at least that's what they're saying ahead of their series opener against the St. Louis Blues. The Bruins had their typical morning skate at TD Garden, dealt with the hordes of media waiting for them in the locker room, and then will try their best to kill the eight hours until the puck finally drops at 8 p.m. Monday night.
"The biggest thing is it's finally here. It's been a long two weeks," forward Brad Marchand said after Monday's morning skate. "You could feel the excitement last night trying to go to sleep, thinking about today. It's nice that game day is finally here and we'll get things going."
Monday night will be Game No. 100 for the Bruins this season. They'll do their best to treat Monday like the 99 other game days they had during their run to the Cup Final.
"Obviously the magnitude of it isn't just another game, but we want to try to prepare like we have all year for all 100 games," said head coach Bruce Cassidy. "Players are typically routine-oriented, so the closer you stick to it the better it is. There are obviously a few differences this time of the year, from the game start and the stuff around it. We asked them to enjoy that but get focused in on how they typically prepare. And that's where our leadership group has come in handy for us. They've been here before and kind of sent that message to the guys who haven't."
Boston's veteran core of captain Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Tuukka Rask and Marchand is set to make their third appearance in the Cup Final in the last nine years. They've done their best to keep the Bruins' younger players ready during the team's 10-day layoff since their last game, and hungry to bring home hockey's ultimate prize. It really hasn't taken much to keep everyone geared up for the Cup Final.
"You don't need any motivation or anything to give you extra energy," said Krejci, who has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) this postseason. "We're here for a reason and we know what we're playing for. Whether it's game 100 or game five, we're feeling good and we're here. That's all we care about."
"We've prepared as best we can and we don't want to be scared of the moment when we're out there," said second-year defenseman Matt Gryzelcyk. "We want to get back to playing aggressive hockey right away and find that edge as quick as we can."
The Bruins expect there to be some rust after their lengthy layoff, but they know they don't have long to knock it off against the Blues. The two teams are mirror images of each other, which should make for an exciting battle for Lord Stanley's Cup. They both have red-hot goaltenders in Tuukka Rask and Jordan Binnington, so goals should be hard to come by for both offenses.
Marchand, along with Bergeron and David Pastrnak, is ready to match up against St. Louis' top line, which has been doing quite a bit of damage this postseason. Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn have combined for 22 goals this postseason, the same amount as Boston's top trio.
"Schwartz right now is extremely hot. Tarasenko is on a tear and Schenn, you have to know where he is at all time. He competes physically and is dangerous around the net," said Marchand, who is Boston's leading scorer with 18 points this postseason. "They have a lot of weapons on that line and are responsible defensively. On the back end I'm sure we'll see [Colton] Parayko and [Jay] Bouwmeester, which are both big mobile defensemen who can make plays. That's a dangerous line when you put them all together, so we're going to have our work cut out for us."
Soon enough, we can all stop talking about Game 1 and finally get to enjoy it. The Bruins may be doing their best to stay as calm and even keeled as they can before the puck drops, but emotions will be running high as the countdown gets closer and closer to game time.
"Typically I'm not a guy who gets nervous, it's more anxious. We've been waiting for a long time," Cassidy admitted Monday. "There are always things that go through your head; did we miss things along the way? And I'm exited what the opposition has and how we're going to respond. That's more, personally, what I go through, but I would imagine when we step on the bench and the crowd gets into it, it's real then. Game on.
"There has been a lot of talk but at about 8:20 tonight it will sink in that we're in the Stanley Cup [Final]," said Cassidy.
The long wait for the Stanley Cup Final is almost over.