Bruins will win Cup behind mix of veterans, rookies

BOSTON -- Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy. The old and the new. The last generation and the next.

The Boston Bruins are in the midst of a perfect moment in time, when their old guard -- Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand -- are meeting a new era of players -- McAvoy, Ryan Donato, Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen -- and the two sides are finding harmony. It has happened earlier than expected, with six rookies playing at least 30 games for the Bruins this season, a fact that would not usually yield the kind of success the Bruins have had.
And yet, the two sides have leaned on each other, learning from each other and bolstering each other.
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That is why the Bruins will win the Stanley Cup this season.
The Bruins are excellent in scoring goals and stopping the opponent from scoring. They are strong at even strength, on the power play and the penalty kill. They have withstood injuries, have integrated rookies, have surged through the League and that will continue in the playoffs.

The Bruins' success is about a group that has won the Cup, having beaten the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, and which knows it has a limited time left to win another, and a group that is hungry to win its first championship.
That's exactly what the Bruins will do, riding a top line that features three 30-goal scorers (Marchand, David Pastrnak, Bergeron), a goaltender just outside of the Vezina Trophy conversation (Tuukka Rask), and a more-than-solid defense, all the way to the end. And, after the final win of the season, new and old will raise the Cup again -- together.