There won't be a parade in Boston.
After throwing parades for the Red Sox' 4th World Series title since 2004 and the New England Patriots' 6th Super Bowl title since 202, the Bruins would not earn their second parade since 2011 falling 4-1 to the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup in front of their hometown fans at the TD Boston Garden.
It is the Blues' first Stanley Cup title in franchise history. What is so remarkable about this championship is this team was in last place in the Central Division of the Western Conference on January 3rd. There were two turning points in the Blues' path to the Stanley Cup. The first was firing head coach Mike Yeo and replacing him with Craig Berube on an interim basis. The second was Berube's decision to call up Jordan Binnington from the Blues' AHL affiliate in San Antonio and insert him as the starting goalie. The Blues got hot in late January embarking upon an 11-game winning streak while going 12-2 in February. They went 24-5-1 with Binnington in the net.
The Blues overcame the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks in the playoffs before meeting up with the Bruins.
An expansion era team, the Blues reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first three years of existence but were swept twice by the Montreal Canadiens and once by the Bruins as Bobby Orr flew through the air. From the 1980's through the early 2000's, the Blues were a perennial playoff contender but always a bridesmaid. After not making the post-season in five of six years during the 2000's, the Blues reached the post-season for six straight years this decade before missing out last year and seemed destined to miss yet again. Now the Blues are full of joy and so are the people of St. Louis as a city other than Boston gets to enjoy a parade for a change.
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