At Least One BC Hockey Player Will Make the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals

With Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay facing off in the Eastern Conference Finals, either Brian Dumoulin or Brian Boyle will compete for the Stanley Cup. If Dallas and Pat Eaves pull off a win tonight against St. Louis, we will have increased odds of an Eagle once again getting his name on the Stanley Cup. Neither San Jose nor Nashville have a BC alum; they're playing a game 7 in the other Western Conference semifinal.

BC players have appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals in 8 of the past 10 seasons, and an Eagle has won the Cup 4 seasons out of the past 10. 5 different players have won the Cup since 2006, and 11 have appeared in the Finals during that time. Brooks Orpik has appeared in the Finals twice since 2006, winning once. Brian Boyle has also appeared in two Stanley Cup Finals during that time, but has yet to win. Rob Scuderi has made the Finals 3 times in the past decade, and has won twice.

Here is the breakdown of BC alumni in the Stanley Cup Finals each season following the 2004-2005 lockout.

2006 - The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Edmonton Oilers. There were no BC alumni in the Finals.

2007 - The Anaheim Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators. Ryan Shannon won the Cup with the Ducks in 2007, playing in 11 of Anaheim's playoff games. However, Shannon did not play during the Finals. Patrick Eaves played for the Senators during the 2006-07 season, although he missed a chunk of the playoffs due to injury. Eaves played in 7 playoff games and recorded 2 assists.

2008 - The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins. There were no BC players on Detroit's winning team, but both Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi played for Pittsburgh. Orpik recorded 2 assists and had 18 penalty minutes in 20 playoff games. Rob Scuderi also played in 20 playoff games for the Penguins. He recorded 3 assists.

2009 - The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings. Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi were both on this Penguins team, as was Bill Guerin. Orpik had 4 assists and 22 penalty minutes in 24 playoff games. Scuderi contributed 1 goal and 4 assists for the Penguins, also in 24 games. In Guerin's penultimate NHL season he played in all 24 playoff games, scored 7 goals, and recorded 8 assists.

2010 - The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers. There were no BC alumni in the Finals.

2011 - The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks. Andrew Alberts and Cory Schneider both played for Vancouver, but there were no BC alumni on the winning Boston team. Alberts played in 9 playoff games for Vancouver, while Cory Schneider saw time in 5 playoff games (including 2 during the Finals).

2012 - The Los Angeles Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils. Rob Scuderi played 20 games for the LA Kings in the playoffs, picking up one assist. Stephen Gionta and Peter Harrold both played for the Devils during the 2012 Finals. Gionta scored 3 goals and recorded 4 assists in 24 playoff games, while Harrold played in 17 playoff games and picked up 4 assists.

2013 - The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins. Ben Smith played only one playoff game for the winning Chicago team during the 2013 playoffs, but it was in the final round.

2014 - The Los Angeles Kings defeated the New York Rangers. Brian Boyle and Chris Kreider both played for the losing NY team. Boyle played in 25 playoff games, scoring 3 goals and recording 4 assists. Kreider played in only 15 playoff games, but picked up 13 points with 5 goals and 8 assists.

2015 - The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning. Brian Boyle played for the Lightning in the 2015 playoffs, recording 1 goal and 1 assist in 25 playoff games.