Game 7s are an emotional roller coaster for both teams involved.
For the victors, the joy of coming out on top in the very last game of the season surely is an unmatched high. But for those on the losing end, the pain is one you really can’t brace for.
It was the Boston Bruins who came up short Wednesday night when the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. A Game 7 loss is crushing in itself, but watching your opponent celebrate a championship on your home ice adds salt to the wound.
Most Bruins players understandably struggled to put the loss into words, but we’re assuming the entire locker room would co-sign Brad Marchand’s summation of how the season came to a close.
“It’s a heartbreaker. It’s tough to describe,” Marchand said, according to Boston Sports Journal’s Conor Ryan. “You know, they just took our dream, our lifetime dream from us, and everything we’ve worked for our entire lives, and it’s 60 minutes away from that. You can’t describe it.”
Marchand didn’t hide from his emotions nor the reality of the situation. The star winger, who now has fallen short in the Cup Final twice in the last seven years, noted you never know when you’ll have a chance to compete for hockey’s highest honor again. And for this Bruins core that’s been intact for almost a decade, there’s a more-than-real possibility this was their last crack at a Cup.
Then again, this veteran group has defied the odds before, and they’ll look to do the same next season.
