It’s over.

Boston Bruins fans know what we’re talking about – not just the historic 2022-23 season, but an era.

Boston has had the Stanley Cup in its sight for the last decade or so, give or take a year, ever since they departed Vancouver in June of 2011, a city in some parts left in riot ruins, with the Cup.

They appeared close again the last few years, trying it former coach Bruce Cassidy’s way. Cassidy pretty much knew the strengths and weaknesses of every Bruin and let you and everyone else know about it.

That didn’t sit well with the core group of Cup winners, who you can pretty much bet told the Boston brass it was him or them.

No, no. We’ll make the change and you guys come back for one last run.

So Patrice Bergeron, who was set to hang it up, returned. David Krejci ended his brief European sabatical and returned. But Sunday night it all came crashing down. It’s always tough to give an accurate analysis of what goes wrong in the game of Stanle Cup playoff hockey, but it usually points to one area – goaltending. The Bruins had a 3-1 series lead but couldn’t put the Florida Panthers away because their goaltending, whether it was Linus Ulmark’s six games or Jeremy Swayan’s one, wasn’t up to Cup level. The series was lost in Game 5 when Ulmark’s brain cramp that turned the puck over behind the net and had him diving to get back into position to try to snag the Florida game-winner. And to think that followed Brad Marchand’s end of regulation breakaway that went for naught.

There’s where it eneded. In the Stanley Cup Moments, you have to seize the moment, or the moment seizes you.

Certainly we didn’t expect this. The Florida Panthers? Really? Curse of the Presidents Cup strikes again, it certainly seems. But the bottom line is the old gang is going to be gone. If you didn’t think Bergeron was waving good-bye for good as basically the last player on the ice on Sunday night, then you’re not paying attention. If he comes back, it would be almost as shocking as Sunday’s result. Both Krejci and Bergeron played the most in the regular season as they had in years, and both were hurt come playoff time. Oops.

Krejci has lost a stride, obviously, and his return was based on Bergeron coming back and giving it one last try. Gone.

Marchand still had more left in him, but how much? He clearly wasn’t the same player post hip surgery, and one can argue it might take a full year. But he’ll have plenty of time to rest now.

And how about good guy coach Jim Monty Montgomery? It’s easy to say that veteran Paul Maurice outcoached him in the series, trying every combination he could to try to outmaneuver a more talented opponent. Montgomery, had he won the Cup, would have bought himself some years of good standing the way Claude Julien did. But now he’s under the management microscope, fair or not.

Once again, we’re taught the sometimes cruel lesson in the NHL – and heck, it’s getting that way in the NBA and MLB too – that after the regular season, the best doesn’t always survive the rest.

And the Bruins, are making history, are now just that.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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