The
Bruins made the playoffs every year through the 1980s, but
usually did not get very far. By the late 1980s, they were
once again a force. In addition to Bourque, players like Cam
Neely, Steve Kasper and Don Sweeney would lead the Bruins
to another finals appearance in 1988 against the Edmonton
Oilers. The Bruins lost in a 4-game sweep, but created a memorable
moment in game 4, when the lights at their home arena (at
that time the Boston Garden) went out in the second period
with the game tied. The rest of the game was cancelled and
the series shifted to Edmonton.
Boston
returned to the finals in 1990 (with Neely, Bourque, Craig
Janney and Bobby Carpenter leading the team in scoring, and
Andy Moog and Rejean Lemelin splitting goaltending duties),
but would again lose to the Oilers.
The 1990s
were not kind to the Bruins. Despite picking up more talent
like Adam Oates, Mats Naslund and Josef Stumpel, they did
not get past the second round of the playoffs after 1992 (their
second consecutive conference final loss to the Pittsburgh
Penguins.) In 1997, they missed the playoffs for the first
time in 30 years. A rennaisance of sorts in the 2001-2002
regular season (led by Joe Thornton, Glen Murray and Sergei
Samsonov) did not translate into playoff success.
Fans in
Boston have suffered the longest championship drought in the
team's history and are increasingly frustrated by the front
office (owner Jeremy Jacobs, former GM Harry Sinden and current
GM Mike O'Connell) unwillingness to spend the money to attract
big-name players.
Their
bitter archrivals are the Montreal Canadiens.
Founded:
1924
Arena: Fleetcenter (capacity 17,565)
Uniform colors: black and gold,
Logo design: logo
comprising of a black B in a black circle with gold spokes
radiating from the center.
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