While the Bruins’ dream of a Stanley Cup run abruptly ended in the first round of the playoffs, Boston’s former coach has been a bit more successful.
Bruce Cassidy, who was fired by the Bruins in 2022, quickly caught on as new coach of the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Las Vegas topped the Pacific Division in the regular season, and has fought hard to win the Western Conference. The Golden Knights now face the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final; the series opens Saturday.
Cassidy was recently asked to compare his team’s current run to the one he coached in Boston in 2019 (when the Bruins eventually lost to the Blues in seven games).
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“We had a difficult first series, that would be different,” Cassidy said of his Boston team. “We had to go seven I think with Toronto, then we picked up steam from there. I honestly can’t answer that right now. I’m stumped, can I say that?”
"It was definitely our best game of the playoffs and it came at the right time."
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 30, 2023
Golden Knights Head Coach Bruce Cassidy speaks to the media following his team's Game 6 victory. pic.twitter.com/mL3Ny9QZ3V
The 2019 Bruins indeed went seven games against the Maple Leafs before emerging victorious, whereas Cassidy’s current Golden Knights team defeated the Jets in five games.
“They’re both so satisfying but to compare them I’d have to think back a little bit,” Cassidy said, contrasting the two teams’ runs. He added some characteristic humor.
“I had less of a bald spot, I know that for a fact,” he joked. “Two great locker rooms. That’s usually what happens when you get to the final four.”
Las Vegas, which has had an NHL team since the 2017-2018 season, is already notching its second Stanley Cup Final appearance as a team, having miraculously achieved the feat in its inaugural season.
Hayden Bird can be reached at hayden.bird@globe.com.