from Tom Keegan of the Boston Herald,

The race for the most storied trophy in sports wrongly has been termed a marathon. That sells an NHL season short. Ultra marathon comes closer.

Eighty-two games in the regular season and three rounds of playoffs behind them, the visiting St. Louis Blues and host Bruins playing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in the final hours of Memorial Day, the puck dropping shortly after 8.

Playing in their 20th Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins seek their seventh championship. The Blues seek their first title in their fourth try and first since being swept by the Bruins in 1970, the inspiration for Flying Bobby, which is to sports statues what the Stanley Cup is to trophies.

To fully appreciate the duration of a hockey season, consider where these teams were in mid-November and start with the goalies.

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