The Dream Lives On

The Boston Bruins pose with Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and the Prince of Wales trophy Friday night after defeating the Lightning 1-0 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

For the first time in 21 years, the Boston Bruins are headed back to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In one of the most epic, gut-wrenching, back-and-forth playoff games in team history, the Bruins edged the Lightning by the skin of their teeth Friday night, earning a 1-0 victory in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to win the Prince of Wales trophy for the first time since 1990.

Once again, Nathan Horton played the hero when he tapped home a cross-ice feed from David Krejci at 12:27 of the third period for his team-leading 8th goal of the postseason. That would be all the offensive support Tim Thomas would need as he made 24 saves to pitch his third career playoff shutout.

The Bruins now advance to the ultimate stage, the Stanley Cup Finals, to take on the mighty Vancouver Canucks with a shot at hoisting their first Holy Grail of hockey since 1972.

"I'm just happy to see those guys smiling in the dressing room right," said head coach Claude Julien. "Right now we're four wins from winning the Stanley Cup."

For the Bruins and their fans, the once-in-a-generation accomplishment feels so rewarding simply because of the hardship and heartache that the team and its supporters have endured the past two decades.

In 1996, Cam Neely was forced to retire with a bad hip way before his time. In 2000, then-GM Harry Sinden shipped Ray Bourque to the Avalanche and, while Bruins fans were happy to see #77 finally hoist the cup, it came in a Colorado uniform. In 2005, golden-boy Joe Thornton was traded to the Sharks when it became apparent he wasn't the guy to bring a cup to Boston.

Most recently, it's been horrific Game 7 losses to Montreal in 2008, Carolina in 2009, and the epic-collapse-that-shall-not-be-mentioned to the Flyers in 2010.

In the city of Boston, where the Sox, Patriots and, most recently, the Celtics have reigned supreme the past decade, the Bruins have become somewhat of an afterthought in the grand scheme of things.

Not anymore.

"It is hard to explain how good this feeling is," explained Horton, who had never played in a postseason game until coming to Boston from Florida.

"This feels incredible," added Thomas, who picked up his 22nd career postseason victory. "I can use all the words everyone uses; incredible, unbelievable. We found a way to do it again. I'm sure everybody else's blood pressure is up, our was too but we've just got such great character on this team. We got it done."

Oftentimes, when such monumental games take place, we tend to focus on the end result almost exclusively.

The Bruins won. They're going back to the Finals. They did it.

But what's most remarkable is how they got it done.

Simply put, Friday night's Game 7 was one for the ages that will go down in Bruins folklore forever. My father, a die-hard Bruins fan who instilled in me at birth the unconditional love for the Black and Gold, said afterward that it was the most intense Bruins game he's ever seen.

Ever.

Better than all those 1970s hey-day matchups with the Canadiens. Better than Bobby Orr flying through the air.

The reason why?

Because of the pace of the game.

A rarity in today's sport, not a single penalty was called on either side. As a result, there were very few whistles or breaks in play to delay the action. For sixty full minutes, the Lightning and Bruins gave it absolutely everything they've got, racing up and down the ice with such passion and vigor that every single check, shot and save sent chills down your spine.

Scoreless for the majority of the contest, Thomas and Roloson (37 saves) exchanged heart-stopping saves to keep the game deadlocked 0-0.

"I wasn't concerned about my team," admitted Thomas after the game. "I was concerned about Roloson playing so well. He played an unbelievable game today. It put a lot of pressure on me."

Then, just past the midway point in the third period, the Bruins finally broke through against Roloson.

Taking a break-out feed from defenseman Andrew Ference, center David Krejci entered the Tampa zone with speed, took the puck wide, then feathered a perfect cross-crease pass right on the stick of Horton who tapped it home for the eventual game-winner.

It marks the second Game 7-winning goal of the playoffs for Horton, who also eliminated the Canadiens in the second round.

"It felt like overtime the entire game," admitted Tampa coach Guy Boucher. "It was going to be who made that one mistake, and it was us."

Infused by the lead and reality of the situation, up 1-0 with less than seven minutes remaining, the sell-out crowd of 17,565 at the TD Garden began chanting "We want the Cup" in deafening unison.

Then, after Tampa pulled Roloson in the final minute but could not sustain any offensive pressure, the clock ticked down to 0:00, and it finally began to sink in that the Bruins had really done something legendary.

"It's great to be a part of something amazing," explained Patrice Bergeron. "That was the highest level of concentration I have experienced. I couldn't wait to jump on Timmy and enjoy the moment."

After the celebration subsided, the two teams shook hands in a customary show of sportsmanship. When Thomas reached Martin St. Louis in line, the two former UVM teammates embraced in an extra-long hug.

"I told him he's a warrior and I love him," said Thomas. "And he said-- he was obviously emotionally distraught because he gives everything he has out there-- but basically he said, 'Go win the whole thing.'"

Congratulations, Bruins fans.

Some of us have waited a lifetime to say this, others the majority of their adult-hood: The Big Bad Bruins are back in the Finals.

Sox in the World Series? Patriots in the Super Bowl? Celts in the Finals?

Forget it.

It simply doesn't get any better than this.