This year's Stanley Cup Final is really a lose-lose for Boston fans. The Canadiens are the Bruins' archrival, something that hasn't changed despite a relative lack of hatred or big games between the two in recent years.
The Lightning are the defending champs, also a division rival (in a normal season), a team that has ended the Bruins' season in two of the last four years, and one that is currently $17 million over the salary cap thanks to some legal-but-probably-shouldn't-be-legal financial gymnastics. Oh, and Tampa is also the city that took Tom Brady and won the Super Bowl while New England fans suffered through the Patriots' first losing season in 20 years.
So, when discussing which team New England fans are "rooting for" in the Cup Final, we should keep in mind that the correct answer for most of the region is probably a strong "neither."
That said, this map surfaced by theScore (via BetOnline) on Wednesday certainly caught our attention.
All six New England states are breaking for the Canadiens???? Regardless of all the caveats laid out above, boy is that bizarre to see.
These Canadiens aren't particularly hateable. In fact, if we're being honest, they're a pretty great underdog story, which might explain the high level of support in other parts of the country.
And again, the Bruins-Canadiens rivalry has been in a bit of a cooldown the last few years, especially this season when they didn't play each other at all. But even in a "lesser of two evils" scenario, it's hard to imagine there would really be that many Boston fans picking the Habs.
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