With the Celtics out of the playoffs, the Patriots still in the early stages of the off-season and the Red Sox in Toronto, the majority of Boston's sports media seemed to converge on Warrior Ice Arena Wednesday for the Bruins practice session.
"Red Sox off today?" Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy jokingly asked as he walked into a press conference room filled to the brim with members of the media.
It's clear the Bruins are the biggest ticket in town right now, and after the St. Louis Blues took down the San Jose Sharks to win the Western Conference on Tuesday, they finally have an opponent to look forward to in the Stanley Cup Final.
The two have met before in the Final: In 1970, Boston won the fourth of their six Stanley Cups after a four-game sweep of the Blues.
The series still has an impact on the team today. Bobby Orr's famous series-clinching goal in the overtime of Game 4 is even immortalized outside TD Garden.
Cassidy said he even had a poster of Orr on his wall as a kid.
But while Boston has gone on to success since then, St. Louis has yet to be back to the Final. Until now.
Cassidy told reporters he thinks the Blues are similar to the Bruins in their style of play.
"So I expect the games will probably be lower scoring, more physical," Cassidy said. "I think they're a bit of our twin, so to speak, the way they balance their minutes. ... But for the most part, I see a lot of similarities."
While 1970 was nearly 50 years ago, there's also some more recent history between the two squads.
Bruins centre David Backes has been in Boston for the past three seasons in Boston, but spent his first 10 years in the league in St. Louis, five of which he spent as a captain.
He admitted to reporters that he couldn't help but watch as the Blues clinched a spot in the Final Tuesday night.
"After the game last night, I'm not gonna lie, there was a tougher time getting to sleep than a normal night," Backes said. "But these are the big moments you play for on the big stage and here we are. And I think we're as prepared as we can be in this room and we're excited to get to the action."
Backes still knows some of the players on the Blues roster, but also pointed out that doesn't mean he is very familiar with them.
"Obviously, if I've got information that I think can help us, I'm gonna disseminate it," he said. "But I don't know that I've got the secret sauce. it's gonna be a battle of will. Both teams are very similar in their makeup, very similar in their style of play, very similar in their resiliency."
Both teams have gone through a lot to get to this point. At one point, the Blues had the fewest points in the NHL.
But now, none of that matters. All that remains is getting through the increased media scrutiny and waiting time before Game 1 on Monday.
"I think the guys will, young or old, will get back into playing mode fairly quickly," Cassidy told reporters. "But it's the lead up, I think, right now. ... You've got a lot of free time and if, you know, you don't keep yourself mentally sharp, [it] may effect you early on."
