Buffalo Sabres 2011 Playoff Tv Schedule

2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals

The Boston Bruins faced off against the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals. The Bruins won the best of seven series 4-3 and improved their overall record in Stanley Cup Finals to 6 - 12. This was the third appearance in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals for the Vancouver Canucks, who have yet to win the Stanley Cup Trophy.

Date, time and TV Station for each game:

Game 1: Boston at Vancouver - Wednesday, June 1, 2011 (8:00 p.m. EDT; TV/Radio: NBC/WBZ-FM)

Highlights: Tim Thomas of the Bruins stopped 33/34 shots, while the Canucks, Roberto Loungo, was a perfect 36/36. In a game that was dominated by great goal keeping from both teams, the Canucks LW, Raffi Torres, was able to put a goal into the net with less than 19 seconds left in regulation.

Game 2: Boston at Vancouver - Saturday, June 4, 2011 (8:00 p.m. EDT; TV/Radio: NBC/WBZ-FM)

Highlights: The Canucks won another hard fought game with a final score of 3-2. Alexandre Burrows was the star of the night, with two goals (including the game winner in OT) as well as an assist. The Canucks took a 2-0 series lead.

Game 3: Vancouver at Boston - Monday, June 6, 2011 (8:00 p.m. EDT; TV/Radio: Versus/WBZ-FM)

Highlights: About 5 minutes into the first period, with the score still 0-0, the Canucks Aaron Rome put a huge hit on the Bruins' Nathan Horton. The crowd remained quite as Horton, who appeared to have been knocked out on the play, was strapped onto a stretcher and carried off the ice. Many of the Bruins players were shaken up, after watching such a violent hit. What happened next will be part of Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Final history forever. Just 11 seconds into the second period, the Bruins scored the first of five straight goals. Two of those five goals were short handed. The Canucks managed to get one goal in the third, but that was followed up by three more goals, on three consecutive shots by the Bruins. The Final Score was 8-1, Boston. The Bruins cut the lead to 2-1.

The seven goal margin of victory was the second most lopsided win since the NHL took control of the Stanley Cup Final in 1927. The most lopsided Stanley Cup victory came in 1991, when the Mario Lemieux led the Pittsburgh Penguins to an 8-0 victory in Game 6 over the Minnesota North Stars. The win clinched the Cup Victory for the Penguins.

Game 4: Vancouver at Boston - Wednesday, June 8, 2011 (8:00 p.m. EDT; TV/Radio: Versus/WBZ-FM)

Highlights: The Bruins continued there offensive onslaught from Game 3 and beat the Canucks 4-0 to even the series. Goalie, Tim Thomas, was a perfect 38/38 in save opportunities, while Rich Peverley (who replaced Horton after he left Game 3 on a stretcher) scored the first and last goals of the game. Series tied at 2-2.

Game 5: Boston at Vancouver - Friday, June 10, 2011 (8:00 p.m. EDT; TV/Radio: NBC/WBZ-FM)

Highlights: The Canucks goalie, Roberto Luongo was a perfect 31/31 in save opportunities while forward, Max Lapierre scored the game's only goal. This was the second 1-0 victory during the series for Luongo. The Canucks lead series 3-2.

Game 6: Vancouver at Boston - Monday, June 13, 2011 (8:00 p.m. EDT; TV/Radio: NBC/WBZ-FM)

Highlights: The first period saw the Bruins scored four goals within a four minute time span and they never looked back. Neither team scored during the second period. Boston won the game 5-2, forcing the 16th Game 7 in Stanley Cup Finals History. Series tied 3-3.

Game 7: Boston at Vancouver - Wednesday, June 15, 2011 (8:00 p.m. EDT; TV/Radio: NBC/WBZ-FM)

Highlights: The home team won each of the first six games, but Game 7 proved differently as the Patrice Bergeron scored two goals, including one short handed, and Brad Marchand added two more as Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0. It was the second 4-0 victory for the Bruins. Tim Thomas, who was a perfect 37/37 in save opportunities was also awarded the Conn Smythe MVP award, which is awarded to the most valuable player of the entire NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Officially Licensed 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals Merchandise, Memorabilia and Collectibles

Vancouver Canucks Facts and History:

Along with the Buffalo Sabres, the Vancouver Canucks joined the National Hockey League as an expansion team in 1970. They are based in the Canadian costal city of Vancouver, British Columbia. Vancouver, which hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, is home to over 2.1 million Vancouverites.

From 1970-1995, the Canucks played in the Pacific Coliseum, which is still in use for other events and holds over 16, 000 fans. In 1995, the Canucks moved from the Pacific Coliseum, which was located in Hastings Park (the Northeast sector of Vancouver) to the Rogers Arena, which was built in downtown Vancouver. Rogers Arean has a capacity of almost 19, 000.

The 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals marks the third time Vancouver Canucks have won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, which is awarded to the NHL's Western Conference Champion. The two previous times they won their conference was during the '81-'82 and '93-'94 NHL hockey seasons. The Canucks have never won a Stanley Cup Championship, however, there was a professional hockey team named the Vancouver Millionaires, who competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and Western Canada Hockey League from 1911-1926, who did win the Stanley Cup in 1915.

The Canucks a led by twin brothers, Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Both brothers were drafted by the Canucks second and third overall, respectively, during the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

Boston Bruins Facts and History:

Founded in 1924, the Boston Bruins were the very first American team and they are one of the oldest franchises in the NHL. The Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Candiens, and the New York Rangers make of the group none as the "Original Six." The term "Original Six, " is commonly misunderstood to mean that these were the first six teams of the NHL. The NHL was founded in 1917 and by 1926, consisted of 10 teams, however, by 1942 the Great Depression and World War II led to the demise of all the other NHL teams, except for these "Original Six." From 1942 - 1967 these six teams were the only NHL teams, and the only teams competing for the coveted Stanley Cup. The 1967-68 season led to the expansion of six more NHL teams, doubling the size of the league, thus the term, "Original Six" actually refers to the six teams of the NHL from '42 - '67.

On January 18, 1958, Willie O'Ree suited up for the Boston Bruins, thus becoming the first black NHL player.

The 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals is the 18th time the Bruins have made the Cup Finals, and their first since 1990. They have an overall record of 5-12 in their previous Finals. They last won the Stanley Cup in 1972.

The Cam Neely Trade:

Every Boston Bruins fan knows who Cam Neely is. He is one one the most beloved and respected players in the history of the Boston sports. From '86-'87, this right winger was one of the most dominating players in the NHL, scoring 50 goals three times during that time span. In 2005, he took his place among hockey's greatest players when he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Did you know he started out as a Vancouver Canuck?

That's right, the Canucks drafted Neely with the 9th pick of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft! Cam played for the Vancouver Canucks from '83-84 through the '85-'86 season. In those three seasons, he did not get a lot of ice time, but he did put up decent numbers; 31, 39 and 34 points. The Canucks were not impressed with Neely's defensive skills, so they traded the 20 year old along with third overall pick of the 1987 Draft, to the Boston Bruins for playmaker, Barry Pederson. Pederson was one of the young stars of the NHL at the time, but unfortunately had two surgeries during the '84-'85 season to remove a tumor from his shoulder. Pederson did play a few more years but was not the same player he was before the surgeries. Neely, whose career was cut short, due to injury as well, was a 5x NHL All Star along the way to the Hockey HOF. To add insult to injury, the player Boston used the draft pick they received in the trade to draft Glen Wesley. Wesley was an NHL All-Star in 1989, won a Stanley Cup in 2006, with the Carolina Hurrincanes and called it quit after a long 20 year NHL career.

Officially Licenesed 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals Merchandise and Memorabilia