Doyle Hopes to Reach Stanley Cup Finals for Third Straight Season
Brian Boyle finished another grueling season with the Tampa Bay Lightning coming up just two games short of winning the Stanley Cup. Of course, two straight trips to the Stanley Cup can be grueling for any NHL player.
Of course, winning eases the pain of a long grueling season, but both trips for Boyle ended disappointingly. The veteran forward, who is 30, was instrumental in the New York Rangers reaching the final in 2014 before they lost to the Los Angeles Kings. This season he helped Tampa Bay reach the finals before the Lightning succumbed to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Like the majority of players who play into June, Boyle was hurt during the postseason. He wanted to skate at a benefit for his friend and ALS but could not put on skates and had to just sit and watch the benefit game.
His offseason is normally full of time watching video from the previous season but this offseason will be different for Boyle.
He said he has not watched anything as it is getting harder to do especially when the team he played for loses the finals. However, he reflects on it and knows that he and his Tampa Bay teammates should be proud of what they accomplished and were within two games of winning the Cup themselves.
Tampa Bay’s core of players is very talented including Tyler Johnson, Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. The mix of veterans and young players with strong goaltending make many believe the team will make trips often to the Stanley Cup finals.
Boyle believes that everything the Lightning learned and experienced in the regular season and playoffs will help them next year and the years to come.
During the finals of the Eastern Conference against the Rangers, Boyle’s wife gave birth to their first child and this past weekend they were in Massachusetts for their son’s christening.
The offseason will be short for Boyle since the played so far into the spring. He is planning a great deal of family time and some golf prior to preparing for the next season.
Boyle knows that the memories and experience gained from two straight seasons in the Stanley Cup finals will help next season when he and his Lightning teammates lace up their skates for 82 regular season games yet again.
Tampa Bay is expected to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference again this season and the experience gained last season, could be the deciding factor in pushing them over the top next season and giving them a Stanley Cup title.
