Been There Before
The main knock against the Blues right now is they don’t have anyone on the team that has been there and done that. The only player with a championship to their name is Oskar Sundqvist and he really did not have anything to do with that Pittsburgh team.
This Boston team is the opposite. They have several players that were on their team in 2011 when they won the Stanley Cup.
Some of the best Bruins helped them win that championship. Marchand, Bergeron and Zdeno Chara all have rings.
What is more, and perhaps just as worrying, is this is not an old team. They have plenty of veterans, like the players listed and former Blues captain David Backes. However, almost everyone other than Backes and Chara is in the prime of their career.
Though they have been there before, Marchand and Bergeron are still in their early 30’s. If you removed Chara’s 41 years on this planet, the team’s median age would drop.
That combination of veterans who have gone through the wars and youthful energy and exuberance is what most champions are made of.
It’s a dangerous mix in Boston. Your best scorer is 30 years old and has seen it all in the playoffs. Their second best scorer is only 22 and is one of the up and coming stars in the NHL.
When the kids struggle, they have players they can lean on. The veterans can give advice about what the media attention is like and how best to pace yourself so you’re not burnt out after one game.
That kind of stuff gets overblown at times, but when there is just two teams left, it can be the difference.