Your excitement about the Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup Final chances should match Bobby Orr’s.
The Bruins legend predicted Thursday his former team will defeat the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final and reign as this season’s NHL champions. Orr admitted to The Athletic’s Steve Buckley his decades as a Bruins icon have biased his prediction, and the Blues will pose an interesting matchup. Nevertheless, Orr is picking Boston.
“I’m just looking at my arm; I have a ‘B’ tattooed on it,” he said. “What do you think? I do think it’ll be a tough series, but the Bruins will win it.”
Orr also revealed what he has enjoyed most about the Bruins’ regular- and postseason success in 2018-19.
“… They’ve had contributions from so many players,” he said. “They’ve been impressive, very impressive. I watched them all season, through all the injuries, and you see what they’re doing now, the Bergerons and the other big guys. The defense is solid, and you don’t know where it’s coming from in these playoffs. All these different guys contributing.
“The Charlie Coyle deal. Great kid. Big body, tough player — he’ll score goals for you. Guys like that are what it takes to be a winner. Of course, Tuukka (Rask) is playing the best I’ve ever seen him play in his career. Z (Zdeno Chara) and (Brandon) Carlo on defense … Carlo has really improved and is really playing well. And, of course, Charlie McAvoy is a pretty good player.
“And then Clifton comes in, and Johnny Moore comes in. They don’t have Kevan Miller coming back, but he’s a guy who would be playing. Through everything, this team has been outstanding. When the (top) guys don’t score, 3 and 4 have been scoring. I’m very, very impressed with the team and the effort they’re showing, and the coaching staff has done a great job with them.”
Since Orr, who clinched the 1970 Stanley Cup Final for the Bruins by scoring perhaps most famous goal in franchise history, knows a thing or two about beating the Blues on hockey’s biggest stage, we might as well ignore his bias and heed his prediction.
