Sadly, hooligans used the Stanley Cup final as an excuse to go apeshit in Vancouver’s downtown core. Vandalism, arson, looting and assorted acts of violence have stained our beautiful city. A very small group of Neanderthals went out of their way to mimic the riots of 1994 — these “people” (and I use that word loosely) have no connection with hockey whatsoever. Real Vancouverites, hockey fans or otherwise, are disgusted by these acts, and embarrassed that a wonderful run of great hockey has now been marred, even overshadowed by this ferret dung in loose pants posing as Canucks fans.

And now, on to the hockey.

1. Congratulations to the Boston Bruins for winning their first Stanley Cup in 39 years. Sure, we’d love to see a city north of 49 win it all, but if it’s not going to happen, the Bruins are as good as it gets. The Canadian content on the Boston roster outstrips even that of the Blackhawks and Flyers last year. It’s the third time in four years an Original Six team takes home hockey’s holy grail. A great achievement for this team of pluggers who virtually nobody chose to outskate the skilled Canucks. There were five Bruins teams to make the finals since 72 – guys like Cam Neely, Ray Bourque and Andy Moog weren’t able to win it all in Boston. Now names like Brad Marchand and Shawn Thornton will go down in Bruins lore beside Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito. That sounds like a sarcastic comment, but it’s not. I’m honestly impressed by the sheer strength of team play that the Bruins put together this year. On paper they’re a decent team. On the ice, they’re quite literally world-beaters.

2. Bonus points to any and all hockey writers who’ve avoided the obvious: “Zdeno Chara may be six foot nine, but it was Tim Thomas who stood tallest in Boston’s win.” Thomas not only took a championship away from this year’s Canucks, he stole a record from Kirk McLean – he made more saves this post-season (798) than any other goaltender in a single playoff year (McLean made 760 in 1994). Tim Thomas put up a massive playoff save percentage of .940, and miniscule goals against average of 1.98. All at the age of 37. Outstanding performance.

For more on Tim Thomas, check out Jason’s article on The Hockey Writers website, Seven Things about Tim Thomas.

3. Speaking of Zdeno Chara, he made possibly the biggest save of all in Game 7. With the Bruins up 2-0 in the second period, Alex Burrows picked up a loose puck and faked Thomas out of position. Chara went down and saved a sure goal that would have put the Canucks in a comeback position. For much of the final, the biggest man in the NHL was strangely invisible – but in the final game, he was steady, he was intimidating, he was everything he needed to be. Good on the big man for hoisting the Stanley Cup higher than any other captain in history.

4. Roberto Luongo will probably have his feet held to the fire for the number of goals scored by Boston in the four losses the Canucks suffered in this series. Here’s a guy who won a gold medal for Canada, won a Jennings trophy for allowing the fewest goals over the entire regular season, and led the Canucks to within a win of a championship, and he’s being questioned. He posted two shutouts in the Stanley Cup final — two shutouts, for crying out loud, winning games when his offense only managed to score once in each of those games — and he’s the reason Boston won? Right. It was clearly the goaltender’s fault that the Canuck power play failed to make a difference in even one game of the final. Luongo’s fault that the Sedins and Kesler were utterly stifled by Boston’s impressive team defense. The Vancouver Canucks as a team scored only 8 goals in 7 games in the final. How can that possibly be the goalie’s fault? Any “fan” or “analyst” who went from Luuuuu to booooo in the post season ought to give their head a shake.

For more on Roberto Luongo, check out Jason’s article on The Hockey Writers website, Seven Things about Roberto Luongo.

5. Mark Recchi gets his name on the Stanley Cup for the third time, on a third different team. He’s just the 10th player in NHL history to do that. He played an amazing final – by himself, Mark Recchi had more points in these seven games than Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler. Combined. He’ll no doubt parade the Cup down Mark Recchi Way in Kamloops, British Columbia later on in the summer. At the age of 43, he’ll call it a career and go out on top. On the other end of the age scale, Vancouver boy Milan Lucic will probably share Lord Stanley’s mug with his family and friends in East Van. Let’s hope he doesn’t use the aforementioned rioters as an excuse to not bring it back. If the Bruins had beat any other team for this Cup, we’d be cheering for Looch. And while we’re subdued in the face of Vancouver’s loss, as fans of the game, Pucked in the Head applauds Boston’s #17 for adding to that Memorial Cup ring so early in his NHL career. Both were won in Vancouver; it’s a great story for a local guy who deserves our support.

6. How must Gary Bettman feel, getting booed in absolutely every NHL city that he visits? Gotta hand it to him, he knows how much hate hockey fans have for him, but every year gets out on that ice to hand out the trophies. His $7-million salary probably helps him feel better, but still.

7. Vancouver GM Mike Gillis has some dancing to do in the off-season. This team was built for a Cup run from the get-go, boasting the deepest blueline in the league and a payroll that only got under the salary cap by way of long-term injuries to some key players throughout the season. It will be interesting to see whether this impressive core of Canucks will have the supporting cast to make a deep run next season, like the Pittsburgh Penguins did. Of course, Sidney Crosby and company lost a heart-breaking final to the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, only to come back and beat those same Wings in seven games in 2009. Canucks fans – true fans, not the hooligans mentioned above – are still waiting for their first-ever Stanley Cup championship. The team came ever so close in their 40th season. After a devastating loss on Wednesday night, Gillis must consider how to prepare for season number 41.