WiNK

The last city to win three major championships in one year was Detroit in 1935; the Lions, Red Wings and Tigers. Boston is threatening to change this as they head into the Stanley Cup Final. In recent years, Boston sports have done well, with 12 championships since 2001. Many have said that Boston is a step-up playoff city. While their regular seasons can be impressive or just as good as the other top contenders, the playoffs is when they put it all together. There becomes a new intensity and level of play achieved. This all came to the test multiple times this year.

The Red Sox finished their season with a record of 108-54, winning the American League East Division. With new manager, Alex Cora, they looked good all season. With incredible solo performances on the team, as well as the overall team accomplishments. Both Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez had a huge impact on this successful season, as well as Jackie Bradley Jr. and Steve Pearce. The depth of talent and chemistry on the team is what arguably won them the season and playoffs. This set their new team record for wins in a season and won the most by any team since 2001. In the division series of the playoffs, they beat the New York Yankees in four games of a five game series, a great way to start off the playoffs, crushing such a rival. Their locker room celebration was just as great as their performance, singing to New York New York. They went on to beat the Houston Astros in the Championship series, sending them to the World Series. In only five games, they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Not long after, all eyes were focused on the Super Bowl, the Patriots vs. the Los Angeles Rams. The beginning of the season came with many struggles, especially in the defense. Many were saying this was the year the Patriots would fall. This team proved to them to be judging too quickly. While looking back on it now, they only lost two games early on, but it looked ugly in the moment. This was the first time since 2002 the franchise lost back-to-back games. As time went on, the record improved and ended as 11-5, with the 2nd seed in the AFC. The first round against the Los Angeles Chargers resulted in a win of 41-28 and then a win against the Kansas City Chiefs 37-31. This game proved to be a true test of the deserving team, resulting in an overtime and arguably one of the most exciting games of the season. These wins sent them to the Super Bowl against the Rams. The first half consisted of continuous failed scoring attempts and a score of 3-0, Patriots. Closer to the end, Sony Michel ran it in for a touchdown, putting the Patriots in the lead. With a key interception by Stephon Gilmore with three minutes left, the win was almost secure. Stephen Gostkowski finished it off with a 41-yard field goal. This was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history, 13-3. This would win Boston their second major championship in just over three months.

After both those wins, the Bruins and Celtics showed great promise to be both the third and fourth Boston Champions consecutively. Although the Celtics failed to match their outsized expectations, the Bruins have had a stellar postseason after a nail biting first round, going down three-games to two against the Toronto Maple Leafs. But after a Game 6 win and blowout in Game 7, they have had a very conniving postseason, going on a seven-game win streak, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets, then sweeping the Hurricanes. There had been concerns over the B's having an 11-day break, worried it could ruin the immense momentum they have gained throughout the past month. With this in mind, on Thursday, they played an intersquad scrimmage in front of a sold out TD Garden crowd. While nothing like a real game, Bruins Coach Bruce Cassidy drew up in hopes of keeping his team sharp before Game 1. Besides a terrifying injury scare to Brad Marchand, the game ran smoothly, with players telling reporters the loved the experience. After the game, Right Wing David Pastrnak, who has had seven big goals for the Bruins this postseason told Boston.com Sports that "It was awesome and we enjoyed it. Hopefully, they had some fun and it was a good preview [for Game 1] for them, " (referring to the fans in attendance). The St. Louis Blues, who face the B's in the Stanley Cup Final, also came in with a three-game win streak, posting two convincing wins to close out their series against the San Jose Sharks.

While I may be biased, I think the Bruins will are playing some stellar team hockey, and will not let this long break subdue the fire they brought throughout these playoffs. The have a fearsome power play, getting the puck in the net an a substantial 34% of the time this playoffs when they've had a man-up advantage. The Bruins' first line is also considered by many people the best in hockey, scoring eleven times and letting in zero int the last series against Carolina. When you look at the numbers, The Bruins have had 3.35 Goals a game and 1.94 Goals against a game, compared to the Blues' 3 and 2.53 respectively.

Update: Game 1 - the Bruins without a doubt had a very slow start, letting in a goal during a first period characterized by sluggishness and a lack of intensity. The very start of the second seemed to be no different, with the Blues scoring again one minute in. At this point, I (Braden) really though the game was over, it just seemed the Bruins had no fire and this game could serve as a wake up call. Well I was way off. Around a minute and a half later, a goal by Conor Clifton put the B's within one. This kicked off a huge amount of energy at TD Garden and on the ice. The Bruins were now looking like the team of the last two rounds. It turned into a completely different game, with the Bruins dominating. Ten minutes later, Charlie McAvoy put one in the back of the net, making it 2-2, and highlighting the Bruins defense, which netted the first two of the game. Going into the third, the Bruins looked poised to take the lead. Sean Kuraly, who had an assist earlier on, scored five minutes into the third.

The unanimous best play of the game came from Torey Krug. The Blues were chippy all game, getting a few penalties for some dirty plays. This didn't stop, with Krug and David Perron getting tangled up in front of the Bruins' net, with Krug's helmet getting torn off. The minute he broke free from Perron, he was on a beeline for the first Blues player he saw. Screaming towards the end of the ice, with no helmet, his absolute demolition of Robert Thomas was a joy to watch, a and the already fired up crowd went nuts. Down by one, the Blues had to pull their goalie, and Brad Marchand capitalized, spinning around with puck almost at the blue line to ice the game.

About that hit, if you haven't seen it, you really need to watch it... (Best angle 54 seconds into the video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qRnOAVdGEM

Game 2 is tonight, as the Bruins continue the quest for a third championship in Boston.