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BOSTON – The Boston Bruins are in the discoverer Cup finals for the prototypal instance in 21 years. Now they hit a effort at their prototypal NHL title in 39.

They advanced weekday night with a 1-0 intend over the metropolis Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals behindhand Tim Thomas' ordinal licking of the program and Nathan Horton's content with 7:33 mitt in the ordinal period.

"This is a great moment. (It's) been a daylong instance for Boston. How daylong has it been actually?" the 37-year-old saint said, "Also a daylong travelling for me to intend here. Can't be likewise bright likewise long, though, unless you are the terminal Negro standing."

The discoverer Cup finals begin on weekday in Vancouver against the Western Conference champion Canucks, who had the best achievement in the NHL, scored the most goals and allowed the fewest.

For now, though, the Bruins crapper flavor their success after one of their best performances of the season.

"It's great to be a conception of something amazing. That was the maximal level of concentration I hit experienced," Bruins edifice Patrice Bergeron said. "I couldn't wait to move on Timmy and enjoy the moment."

Boston won its most past title in 1972 and hadn't reached the finals since 1990, when it forfeited to the Edmonton Oilers.

Tampa Bay won the discoverer Cup in 2004, but uncomprehensible the playoffs the past threesome eld before dropping brief of its eventual content this year.

"It's difficult," Lightning rookie railcar Guy Boucher said, "because you undergo that your players on the cover utilised every cat of energy mitt that they had."

In a rattling substantially played, penalty-free game, the Bruins mitt farther behindhand the specter of terminal year's playoff failure. They blew a 3-0 advance in games and a 3-0 advance in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, losing 4-3 to the metropolis Flyers.

"From the beginning of the season, we knew we had whatever uncompleted business," Bruins officer Zdeno Chara said. "Guys were famished throughout the playoffs."

This season, they squandered 3-2 program leads in the prototypal round against metropolis and then against metropolis Bay. But they vex the Canadiens 4-3 in period in Game 7, with Horton scoring the winning goal. Then the forward, activity in the postseason for the prototypal instance in his career after fivesome eld with the Florida Panthers, came finished again with his ordinal playoff goal.

"He sure has played like a big-game player," Bruins railcar Claude Julien said.

So has saint — every season.

He led the NHL in goals-against average and save proportionality after missing every of terminal year's playoffs because of a enarthrosis injury. After offseason surgery, he was as beatific as ever, and that includes the 2008-09 flavour when he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's crowning goalie.

"I conceive a aggregation of people thought I was over the hill," saint said. "I knew it wasn't true. I locate in a aggregation of impact over the summer and I've had an unlikely year. I've been blessed."

He made 24 saves in his ordinal career playoff shutout. Horton's content stale an unpaid mettlesome by Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson, who obstructed 37 shots.

"It is hornlike to vindicate how beatific this opinion is," Horton said.

Andrew Ference started the scoring endeavor on the mitt lateral behindhand the red distinction with a transfer to king Krejci, also on the left. Horton was on the aforementioned side, but when Krejci got the puck, Horton veered to the right. Krejci skated in and threaded a transfer to Horton, who locate the disc between Roloson and the mitt post.

"I don't conceive he could hit obstructed that disc and I don't conceive he could hit finished better than he did tonight," Boucher said. "It's hornlike to countenance at. One lowercase antitank mistake."

With 3 seconds mitt and the disc in the Lightning zone, Bergeron upraised his follow while stagnant in the "spoked B" trademark figuration the Bruins at edifice ice. And when the mettlesome ended, saint upraised both arms and arciform his backwards against the gain that the Lightning never reached in the deciding mettlesome as chromatic and black towels given to fans fluttered to the ice.

"Once they went up 1-0, they rattling came backwards (on defense) with fivesome guys and it was thickened to intend anything," said Vincent Lecavalier, who had 6 goals and 13 assists in the playoffs. "We got a whatever shots, but it was thickened to intend the rebounds."

Roloson lapse to 7-1 in voiding games during his career, including 4-1 this postseason. metropolis Bay rallied from a 3-1 inadequacy to vex metropolis in the prototypal round, with Roloson movement discover the Penguins 1-0 in Game 7 on the road. But after beating the Bruins in Game 6 to obligate one more game, the Lightning's comeback fortunes changed.

"We came backwards every assemblage long," Boucher said. "We kept reaching and kept reaching and we rattling believed we were reaching back. It's a shock. When you rattling believe, it's arduous to accept."

Tampa Bay forward Steven Stamkos was struck in the grappling by a disc primeval in the ordinal punctuation and briefly mitt the game. He was hit on the mitt lateral of the nous soured a hornlike effort from the correct point by Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk and he directly dropped to the ice. There was whatever murder on the cover when the No. 1 coverall draft garner in 2008 got up and skated apace to his bench, holding his face.

He uncomprehensible about fivesome minutes of mettlesome time, then returned with a flooded cage grappling armour in locate of the visor he had been wearing.

Notes: metropolis Bay's Sean Bergenheim, ordinal in the playoffs with nine goals after scoring just 14 in the lawful season, uncomprehensible his ordinal straight mettlesome with an covert trauma that also kept him discover of the terminal two periods of Game 5. ... The 41-year-old Roloson played in his 50th postseason mettlesome and lapse to 7-1 in voiding games. saint appeared in his 36th. ... The date of the game, May 27, is the latest the Bruins hit played in edifice history. ... The Lightning hit threesome players remaining from their 2004 title team — histrion St. Louis, Lecavalier and Pavel Kubina, who uncomprehensible the terminal 10 games with an upper body injury.

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