Back on Feb. 26, the Bruins scored a 3-1 victory in Vancouver as Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron scored goals, Bergeron into an empty net to seal the win.

Some might have guessed, but no one could have known that only meeting of the regular season between the two teams would be a preview of the Stanley Cup final.

The Bruins visit Vancouver on Wednesday to start the first playoff series ever between the two teams.

The Bruins haven't won the Cup since 1972. The Canucks, born in 1970, have never won it, so along streak will end in the coming week.

The Canucks, winners over the Sharks in the Western Conference final, waited for the Bruins and Lightning to play two more games in the Eastern Conference final. Tampa Bay won Game 6 at home, but the Bruins came back with a 1-0 win in the seventh game Friday night in Boston.

Count Tampa coach Guy Boucher among those who think the Bruins are in good shape heading into the final.

"I know (the Canucks) dominated the league this season," he said, "but I will tell you, I saw the Bruins for seven games. They'll be on equal grounds.

"They have four-line depth, guys who can put the puck in the net and defend, they're non-stop and smart. They've obviously got it all."

And they're in the final for the first time since 1990, when they lost a five-game series to the Oilers.

BRUINS 1, LIGHTNING 0: Tim Thomas pitched his second shutout of the series and Nathan Horton, who never played in a playoff game until he got out of Florida, was the offensive hero again. He scored overtime goals in Games 5 and 7 of the first-round series against the Canadiens and scored with 7:33 left Friday night to lift the B's into their first Stanley Cup final in 21 years.

"The credit belongs to every one of them," coach Claude Julien said. "I mean it, it really was every one of them. Everyone who was on the ice tonight and a part of this team should be proud because they all did it. There were no mental errors, no lulls in our play, no bad stretches. No one ever forgot what was at stake. You could tell by the way everyone played. ... I couldn't have asked for a better Game 7 from our team."

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