Stanley Cup Finals, Game 1: Alex Burrows Not Suspended For Bite; Patrice Bergeron Responds

Patrice Bergeron probably wishes he never complained about it by now. The Alex Burrows bite story from Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins has become the one that's holding us over during these two off days before Saturday's Game 2. 

On Thursday, Burrows escaped suspension for the incident. Bergeron responded to that decision with the media. Here's how things went.

*Bergeron walks to podium, sits*

Moderator: Questions for Patrice.

Reporter: Your reaction to Burrows not being suspended today?

Bergeron: You know what, I'm over it. To be honest with you, I'm looking forward for next game. We have to get back in the series. Like I said last night, it's the League's decision. I'll let them make the call, make the decision. I have nothing else to say about it, I guess.

Reporter: Considering what he did or what you said he did, do you think it makes it more interesting that he'll be playing Saturday night?

Bergeron: We're looking for a win there. He did it. But, I mean, like I said, I'm over it.

*unrelated question, answer*

Reporter: Do you think it's possible that someone can unintentionally bite someone else?

Bergeron: Like I said, I mean, I'd like to just move on here. We're here for the right reasons. We want to win. Like I said, we've got to get back in the series. I know you guys have a job to do. I understand you guys have to ask about it. But to be honest, I've let the League take care of it. They did. I don't want to whine about that stuff. I don't care.

*six unrelated questions, answers*

Reporter: Burrows, did you get your fingers in his mouth?

Bergeron: I just can't get around that one. Like I said last night, we were both face washing each other. I didn't mean to put my finger in his mouth. Why would I do that?

/end of interview

Can one man bite another man's finger by accident? Apparently, NHL Senior VP of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy believes you can, announcing on Thursday that Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks will not face supplementary discipline for biting the finger of Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

"After reviewing the incident, including speaking with the on-ice officials, I can find no conclusive evidence that Alex Burrows intentionally bit the finger of Patrice Bergeron," Murphy said in a released statement. 

Say what, now? No conclusive evidence that he intentionally bit the finger of Bergeron? How does one unintentionally bite another? Last I check, Burrows was a human being, not a venus fly trap. 

Anyway, Burrows got off, and the NHL's discipline carousel keeps on spinning without Colin Campbell at the helm. 

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

The Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks put on a pretty sloppy show in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night, but when it comes to entertainment value, it's going to be hard to top this one. 

There was a little bit of everything: biting, goaltending, penalties, power plays, biting, broken glass, biting and a game-winning goal with 18.5 seconds left. Raffi Torres put that puck in the back of the net three minutes shy of 11 p.m. ET, much to the delight of NBC affiliates across the Eastern time zone that had the perfect lead in to their newscasts.

At NBC headquarters in New York, they're also smiling. According to NBC Sports PR, Wednesday's game drew a 3.2/6 overnight rating, the best overnight ratings for a Game 1 since 1999. In Boston, the game registered at a ridiculous 25.5/39 rating, and in Providence, R.I., an impressive 16.7/24 rating came through. 

Compared with Game 1 from a year ago, the numbers look even more impressive, up 14 percent from the contest between Philadelphia and Chicago, two major American television markets. Granted, it's a weekday evening this year versus a Saturday night last year, but considering one of the home cities in this year's Final isn't in the United States, you're not getting that local boost from two separate markets.

The numbers are solid for NBC. We'll see if they improve as the series wears on. 

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

We don't yet know if Alex Burrows will face supplementary discipline for biting Patrice Bergeron during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday night, but we do know how members of the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks reacted to the incident after the game. 

Burrows denied biting Bergeron (despite pretty obvious video evidence to the contrary), saying that "he had his fingers in my mouth, but I don't think I bit him." Gold, Jerry. Gold. 

Most of the Canucks declined comment or brushed it aside. Ryan Kesler told NBC's Pierre McGuire immediately following the game that it's the kind of passionate play Vancouver needs out of a guy like Burrows, although he's clearly downplaying something there because, well, Burrows bit a guy.

Bergeron talked at relative length about the incident, and while saying that he didn't want to get into a war of words on the subject, he did make sure his point got across.

"Oh yeah, he did [bite me]," Bergeron said. "He cut me a little bit on my finger, but I'm not going to be here complaining about it. I'll let the league do their job, but he sure did. [The officials] didn't see it. We were speaking French, me and him, and I told him, 'Why did you do that?' That linesmen speaks French, and his explanation was he said that I put my finger in his mouth and he had to do it."

"I'll leave it at that, but I'm sure the league is going to look at it."

Claude Julien was less adamant about it, but he did voice some displeasure despite claiming to have not seen the incident. 

"No, I haven't seen it to be honest with you," Julien said. "I don't think I've had time to look at that stuff right now. I'm going by what Patrice told me and obviously there was something that happened, and I guess I'll save my comments for after I see it."

"And if that's the case then that's a classless move and not something players should be doing at this level anyways."     

Colin Campbell won't be making the decision regarding the biting accusations, as he stepped down from his position as the NHL's discipline chief earlier on Wednesday. It won't be Brendan Shanahan, Campbell's eventual replacement, either. Instead, it'll be Mike Murphy, the NHL's VP of Hockey Operations, making the call.

We'll likely learn Burrows' fate sometime on Thursday. 

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

The Vancouver Canucks may have won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, but it wasn't all perfect. Defenseman Dan Hamhuis delivered a hit on Milan Lucic near the Boston Bruins bench, which sent Lucic head-over-heels in movie-like fashion.

Unfortunately for the Canucks, Hamhuis apparently got the worst of it. He gingerly skated off the ice following the hit and never returned in the latter 36 minutes of Game 1.

After the game, Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault said that Hamhuis is listed as day-to-day. Everybody is day-to-day in the playoffs, but whatever.

"Obviously, you know, going down to five D midway through the second, with the intensity that was out there, was obviously taxing on our group," Vigneault said. "But I thought our forwards did a good job of helping our defense out. I thought the five guys that handled the workload did a real good job of sharing the time. I thought our best period was our third period. We were down to five D at that time."

We'll hopefully learn more about Hamhuis' status later on Thursday. 

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

You could feel it developing. Somehow, Ryan Kesler stayed onside (tough), got away from Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk (not so tough), and dished the puck across the ice to a wide-open Jannik Hansen. Zdeno Chara, who rarely ever makes a mistake, over-committed a bit and let Hansen dish a pass through the middle to a cutting Raffi Torres.

As he did all game, Thomas got across the crease pretty quickly. This time, though, it wasn't quick enough. Torres tapped the puck into the back of the net, the clock stopped with 18.5 seconds left. Rogers Arena, and surely the entire city of Vancouver, erupted in euphoria.

Here's the video of the goal, via Mocksession.

Huge goal, of course. The biggest of Torres' career. And in the Bruins locker room, Thomas has some yelling to do. He deserved a much better fate after a brilliant Game 1 performance. 

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

After 59 minutes and 42 seconds of fantastic goaltending, that featured 69 shots without one getting by Tim Thomas or Roberto Luongo the entire night, and in many cases those saves being spectacular. That said, Thomas' lone flaw is at times his over-aggressiveness, and it burned him, as Raffi Torres got the games only goal with 18.5 seconds remaining, and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final by a score of 1-0, to take the same lead in this best-of-seven series. 

The third period saw the whistles thrown into the referees pockets, after 28 minutes of penalties were called through the first two periods. The goaltenders were terrific as mentioned, with Thomas especially holding the line desperately throughout the third. A Janik Hansen break-away was pure robbery from Thomas. Roberto Luongo was solid and steady for the entire game, never giving you the sense that the net was in any trouble of being penetrated. 

It was in the final minute that you finally got someone to blink. Ryan Kesler drew to Boston defenders to him as he entered the Boston zone, and found Hansen for a mini-2-on-1 with Raffi Torres. Hansen made a split-second pass to Torres, with Thomas outside the net just enough to be off his angle, and Torres simply buried it. A controversial player throughout the post-season, Torres plays the hero this evening. It was his third goal of the playoffs and Kesler's 12th assist on a great play as he continues to mount a Conn Smythe campaign. A quick pull of the goaltender could do no good for the Bruins, who now have a demoralizing loss and one more chance to get something out of the trip to Vancouver during Saturday's Game 2. 

Tim Thomas is getting a ton of credit for his ridiculous performance in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight, and rightfully so. He's been incredible since the initial puck drop, and there's no reason not to heap tons of praise on him.

After all, he's the one player the Boston Bruins need to play above his head if they want to beat the Vancouver Canucks and win the Stanley Cup in these next two weeks, and so far in Game 1, that's exactly what he's done. 

But one guy, another Vezina Trophy nominee, has been overlooked at the other end of the ice. Roberto Luongo has been just as good in the Canucks crease, but his tendency to stay back in his crease a little bit more and his calm demeanor in the net allows his game to fly under the radar -- well, at least compared to Thomas.

That's exactly what's happening thus far tonight. Both goalies have been superb, and they're using two different styles of goaltending to do so. 0-0, 10 minutes left in the third.

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

The Boston Bruins didn't see a single penalty called in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It didn't really matter to them, since they have a horrible power play and they won the game anyway, but it was a big storyline heading into these Stanley Cup Finals.

How would the officials call things in the most important games of the year? Apparently, the NHL wasn't happy with the let-them-play attitude the officials had in Game 7, because in Game 1 of the Cup Finals between the Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, literally everything has been called. 

There's still 20 minutes left in the game, and here's a look at the penalty summary. Click to enlarge.

Yeah, that's slightly absurd. To be sure, the Bruins and Canucks haven't exactly been disciplined tonight, but 17:38 of total power play time in 40 minutes of hockey is just wild. 

More wild, perhaps, is that neither team has scored on the power play. We'll see if that changes in the third.

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

The Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks continue to search for the first goal of Game 1 in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. Though both clubs continue to get multiple power play chances per period, with both even having some sort of 5-on-3 during the middle frame, still no one has broken through. What we have seen, however, is a game heavy with chances, physical play and controversy as it's a 0-0 tie following 40 minutes at Rogers Arena. 

The Bruins got a 5-on-3 early in the period. They were already on the power play from the Alex Burrows biting controversy that ended period one, when Kevin Bieksa took a minor at 28 seconds. The Bruins attack, however, was flaccid in the second period compared to the first. Only managing nine shots, while they put up 17 in the opening period. They are 0-for-5 on the man advantage, and now 1-for-32 on the road in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Canucks had their own problems, while getting the better of the offensive play, were still outshot 9-8 in the period and 25-20 by the Bruins through two periods. They had a brief 5-on-3 when Dennis Seidenberg and Rich Peverley went off for kneeing and hooking, but an Alex Burrows (likely not getting any sympathy from the refs on anything borderline tonight) trip stifled their efforts. The Canucks are now 0-for-6 on the man advantage. The two teams remain without a goal after two, who will get the big first tally in Game 1?

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

On paper, the Vancouver Canucks are a better hockey team than the Boston Bruins. It's close, and with Tim Thomas, there's no reason that the Bruins can't win the Stanley Cup, but as constituted, the offensive firepower the Canucks possess is just so overwhelming.

If there's one true equalizer that's not named Thomas, though, in my eyes, it's the physical play Boston brings to the table. We won't call the Canucks soft... but, well, alright, they're a little fluffy. The only way to really stop the offensive power of Vancouver is to simply get all over the puck carrier, eliminate time and space with the puck and prevent the Sedin twins and the other weapons of the Canucks from getting creative. 

Slowly but surely as the first period went on, the Bruins got their physical game going. They began slowing the Canucks down a little bit and taking the body after a bit of a tentative start. It's a good sign for Boston as we hit the second period of Game 1 with a 0-0 score.

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

The Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks had one of the more exciting "feeling out" process in the first period of Game 1 in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. Lots of excitement, shots, and plenty of time for each on the man advantage. But, at the end of 20 minutes, the teams are scoreless at Rogers Arena. 

The big moment for Boston came when Daniel Sedin improbably high sticked Zdeno Chara, and received a double-minor at 4:03. The Bruins rattled off 10 consecutive shots on Roberto Luongo, but could not put anything past Roberto Luongo, and another one later in the period. The Boston power play was notable for missing two more times on the road, putting them down to 1-for-29 on the road during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They chose to use Chara in front of the net, instead of at the point. 

Chris Kelly and Brad Marchand penalties for high sticking and holding the stick gave Vancouver two power play chances in the period, but they were unable to put anything by Tim Thomas. The Bruins outshot the Canucks, 17-12 in the first frame, but both goaltenders were solid. Patrice Bergeron took a minor for roughing that will put the Canucks back on the job to being period number two. 

Zdeno Chara took a high-stick behind the net from Daniel Sedin, putting the anemic Boston Bruins power play up a man for four long minutes in the first half of the first period of Game 1 in this Stanley Cup Final.

Yes, a high-stick on Chara. It's almost impossible, but it happened. 

Of course, Chara's done everything so far, proving that he'll (obviously) be an X-factor in the series. After taking the stick in the face and drawing some blood, Chara hopped back on the ice and was positioned down low on the power play. For most of the postseason, he's played up top and not in front of the opposing net. 

Showing even more, Chara hopped up to take a face off midway through the power play, after a long delay following a shattered pane of glass. He used his mammoth reach to win the draw, and several times on the man advantage, his positioning in front of the net led to second-chance opportunites for the Bruins.

They've converted at just 8.2 percent in the postseason, and despite failing to score on the lengthy power play in the first period of Game 1, putting Chara in front of Roberto Luongo could be something that turns the B's around with the man advantage. 

The Stanley Cup Finals are ongoing, as the Vancouver Canucks battle the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

There are scary tornadoes bearing down on central and western Massachusetts this Wednesday night, and while hockey is suddenly on the back-burner for thousands of Boston Bruins fans as a result, it won't fall on the back-burner for the local NBC affiliate.

Channel 7 in Boston, the NBC affiliate, will indeed switch to Game 1 coverage in time for puck drop, expected around 8:20 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, tornado coverage will switch to their sister station, CW56. 

That's good news for Bruins fans looking to watch their team in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in decades. For fans impacted by nature this evening, hockey is the last thing on the mind. Stay safe.

The Stanley Cup Finals kick off Wednesday, as the Vancouver Canucks host the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage of Game 1. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

The 2011 Stanley Cup Finals are here, and on Wednesday night, the Vancouver Canucks will host the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the NHL's annual championship series.

You need information about where to watch this game, when to watch this game, where it's being played and where you can find more coverage of that game. We have that information. Here it is. 

Boston Bruins at Vancouver Canucks -- Game 1, Stanley Cup Final

Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, B.C.
Time: 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. local.
Television: NBC in the United States, CBC in Canada, RDS in Canada (French language). 

Officials: The referees are Dan O'Rourke (No. 9), Stephen Walkom (No. 24). The linesmen are Pierre Racicot (No. 65) and Steve Miller (No. 89). 

Starting Goaltenders: Tim Thomas goes for the Bruins, Roberto Luongo for the Canucks.

SB Nation has you covered from just about every angle on Wednesday's Game 1 and the entire Stanley Cup Final. You can keep up with this StoryStream throughout the night for every angle on Game 1, and our Stanley Cup Final hub for coverage throughout the series. 

For local coverage from the Boston Bruins perspective, you can get full coverage from our blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder, and our regional hub at SB Nation Boston. 

For local coverage from the Vancouver Canucks perspective, you can get full coverage from our blog, Nucks Misconduct. 

There are good omens everywhere you look in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, and they benefit both the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins. Only one team can win, of course, so something is gonna have to give.

For the Canucks, they have the famed Olympic omen on their backs. The last two times a Canadian city hosted the Olympics, the NHL team that calls that city home won the Stanley Cup the following year.

Montreal hosted the Summer Games in 1976 and the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1977. In 1988, Calgary hosted the Winter Games. The Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989. Of course, Vancouver hosted the Olympics in 2010. 

On the flip side, the Bruins hold the good luck of the NHL Premiere omen. In the last two seasons, each champion has played in the NHL's Premiere event to kick off the regular season in Europe. In 2009, the Pittsburgh Penguins opened their season in Stockholm, and in 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks kicked off their year in Helsinki. 

The Bruins opened their 2010-11 season in Prague. 

The Stanley Cup Finals kick off Wednesday, as the Vancouver Canucks host the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage oFor coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

There’s been no official confirmation in either direction on Manny Malhotra’s status for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but given the evidence we do have on him, we can safely assume that he’s not going to be on the ice come 8 p.m. ET time for the Vancouver Canucks. 

Head coach Alain Vigneault said that he’s still listed as day-to-day. 

For the second day in a row, Malhotra didn’t practice in the morning at Rogers Arena. He was cleared to take contact late last week by team doctors and it seemed as though he was going to be ready for Game 1 as recently as the weekend, but he didn’t skate on Tuesday or Wednesday, eliminating those chances. 

He’s been out of the Canucks lineup since mid-March, when he took a puck off the face in a game against Colorado. After two surgeries, there were questions on whether he’d ever return to the NHL, let alone this season. If he does play later in the series, it could be considered miraculous.

The Stanley Cup Finals kick off Wednesday in Vancouver, as the Canucks host the Boston Bruins. Stick with this StoryStream for full coverage oFor coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

The Vancouver Canucks have been the best team in the NHL all season long, and with the Stanley Cup Finals odds in from those who make them, it's no surprise that the Canucks are favored over the Boston Bruins in Game 1.

According to both Bodog and SBG Global, the Canucks are -200 to win Game 1 on Tuesday night (8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC), while the Bruins are the underdog at +170. Oddsmaker sees things the same as well.

Oddsmaker also has some fun prop bets on Game 1, and as expected, they don't expect Boston to score first on the power play. The Canucks are favorites at -140 in that department. They see the chances of a shutout by either goaltender as rare, with "No" being favored by -500, despite the fact that both Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo are Vezina-candidates.

The odds are also against the game going into overtime (-340), in favor of both Sedin twins registering a point (-145), and against either team scoring three unanswered goals (-250). 

The Stanley Cup Finals kick off Wednesday in Vancouver, as the Canucks host the Boston Bruins. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.

The 2011 Stanley Cup Finals will be the most-traveled in modern NHL history, behind only the long trek of the Dawson City Nuggets, who traveled from the middle-of-nowhere Yukon Territory to Ottawa, a trip well over 4,000 miles, back in the early 1900s.

In fact, should the Bruins and Canucks push this series to five games, the teams will have each traveled well over 4,000 miles during the series, and that number will only rise should a trip to Boston be necessary for Game 6 and a trip back to Vancouver be necessary for Game 7.

It all begs the question: when there's more than 2,000 miles between cities, as is often the case in the Stanley Cup Finals when East meets West, should the format of the series be changed? 

Presently, all NHL series' are in the 2-2-1-1-1 format, meaning the team with home-ice edge hosts two games, the road team hosts two games and the teams alternate back and forth for the final three games. In minor league hockey, due to financial concerns with the extra travel, they often use a 2-3-2 format, in which the team with home-ice hosts Games 1 and 2, the road team hosts Games 3 through 5, and the home team hosts the final two games.

Obviously, NHL teams don't have to worry about the extra travel expense. They can afford it. But considering the Bruins could travel over 15,000 miles round trip if this series is to go seven games, can the players really afford it? And isn't this something that could take away from the quality of play? Jet lag isn't really a joke. 

A 2-3-2 series format would take over 5,000 miles off the trip in the event of a seven game series. It makes a difference. The NBA uses the format in their Finals, and Major League Baseball uses the format in the World Series.

The only foreseeable downside is that the road team could wind up with home ice advantage should the series go five games. This happened in the 2008 World Series. The Tampa Bay Rays had home field advantage thanks to the American League's win in the All-Star Game, and when the Philadelphia Phillies won the series in five games, they were able to celebrate on their home field, while having played three home games compared to the Rays' two. 

It's unlikely we see a change, and knowing hockey fans, there'd probably be some sort of uproar if anything changed at all. It might be the smart move, though. 

The Stanley Cup Finals kick off Wednesday in Vancouver, as the Canucks host the Boston Bruins. For coverage on the Finals, stick with our Stanley Cup Finals hub, our Canucks blog, Nucks Misconduct, and our Bruins blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.