2013 Stanley Cup Finals: Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks

The 2013 Stanley Cup Finals will be the championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL) 2012–13 season, and the culmination of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. This will be the 120th year of the Stanley Cup's presentation. The series will pit the Eastern Conference playoff champion Boston Bruins against the Western Conference playoff champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks will have home ice advantage as the Presidents' Trophy winners. Due to a lockout that both shortened and delayed the start of the regular season, the 2013 Cup Finals will now begin on June 12. The finals will end no earlier than June 19 and no later than June 26. This is the first Stanley Cup Finals series between two Original Six teams since 1979, and the first time these two teams have met in the Stanley Cup Finals.

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Tamako said it: they're flying high!

IT WAS punt that paid off on Sunday night and one that may continue to reap rewards for West Coast in the second half of the season.

The Eagles' decision to leave Beau Waters out for a third straight week as he recovers from a quad injury was made with the second half of the season in mind.

From the way coach John Worsfold spoke about Josh Kennedy and the Sunday afternoon late withdrawal call on his calf, it was clear no risks would be taken with the lure of the Eagles' bye next weekend providing a potential two-week rest for sore players.

Captain Darren Glass (hip) and Mark LeCras (arm) were others who missed the trip to Melbourne, after not being named on Thursday night.

Those players will now get a fortnight to rest their sore bits – but had the Saints prevailed in the tight game, the Eagles' long-term aspirations as a team would have looked bleak with the result cutting them loose from the top eight.

"If we didn't win tonight, it was going to make the season even tougher for us and there would be no use having Beau Waters fresh for the remainder of the year if we were languishing," Worsfold said afterwards.

"He felt he could play, we felt he could play [but] that was going to jeopardise his continuity throughout the rest of the year so we made a decision to look long-term for Beau in the hope we were going to be good enough to win tonight.

"I believe we made the right call there."

The importance of the four points wasn't lost on veteran midfielder Andrew Embley, who said it was a win that came with character.

"It would have made it very difficult had we dropped this game so whilst it wasn't pretty, it's always a good sign when you're not at your best but you can just do something – or do what it takes – to win," Embley toldAFL.com.au.

"It hasn't been the greatest first half of the year and we knew we had to play a really important game for us today.

"I thought we had to really dig deep in the end and I'm sure the guys would be pretty proud of their efforts."

When assessing the first half of the season, which has provided the Eagles with six wins and five losses, Worsfold used the phrase "a bit stop-start" with good patches and no great games.

Sunday's win came with intensity he was happy with but a skill and decision making level that was lacking.

Still, Worsfold said the result and the team's position overall gave them a chance to right some wrongs in the second half of the season – and do it over a more consistent period.

"We've got ourselves in a position where we believe we can play our best footy at some point throughout the season and maintain it for the rest of the season," he said.

"What I would say is we're disappointed we're not higher on the ladder – that would give us greater opportunities – but there's been some wonderful efforts by a lot of different players in helping us get to where we are.

"It's just four more points on the ladder. We're not happy with the way we played tonight or anything like that, but we've got the points and they're locked away.

"That's the key thing for us right at this moment.

"Yeah, we'd like to be playing better footy and have more players out there but we've got that to work towards - do the hard work now going forward."

Jennifer Phelan is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenPhelan.

BoBA 2013 ISML Predictions: Ruby Match Day 1

ARENA 01: [Misaki Mei] Kirishima Shōko by <=500
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 02: [Yūki Asuna] Mikazuki Yozora by >=1000
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 03: [Araragi Tsukihi] Araragi Karen by <=500
Over/Under: 8300
Under

ARENA 04: [Nibutani Shinka] Makise Kurisu by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 05: Nōmi Kudryavka [Oshino Shinobu] by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 06: Yūki Mikan [Ayano Keiko (Silica)] by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 07: [Nyarlathotep] Honma Meiko by >=1200
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 08: [Shirakiin Ririchiyo] Kanzaki H. Aria by <=500
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 09: [Shiina Mashiro] Chitanda Eru by >=1000
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 10: [Natsume Rin] Takanashi Tōka by <=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 11: Kurasaki Fūko (Sky Raker) [Sanka Rea] by <=700
Over/Under: 8300
Under

ARENA 12: [Yui] Kotegawa Yui by <=700
Over/Under: 8300
Under

ARENA 13: [Takanashi Rikka] Kirigaya Suguha by >=1000
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 14: Yuzuriha Inori [Kuroyukihime] by >=1000
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 15: Konoe Subaru [Akemi Homura] by <=400
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 16: Tōwa Erio [Aoyama Nanami] by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 17: [Hasegawa Kobato] Kashiwazaki Sena by >=250
Over/Under: 8500
Over

ARENA 18: [Momo Belia Deviluke] Roromiya Karuta by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 19: Hinamori Momo, Quele Sellier [Miria Harvent, Rinslet Walker] by >=500
Over/Under: 7000
Under

ARENA 20: [Tōsaka Rin] Illyasviel von Einzbern by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 21: [Tachibana Kanade] Nakamura Yuri by >=2000
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 22: [Fujibayashi Kyō] Victorique de Blois by <=500
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 23: [Saber] Senjōgahara Hitagi by >=600
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 24: [Sengoku Nadeko] Kuroi Mato by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 25: Katsura Hinagiku [Hirasawa Yui] by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 26: Iwasawa Masami [Last Order] by >=1000
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 27: [Charlotte Dunois] C.C. by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 28: Aisaka Taiga [Misaka Mikoto] by <=1000
Over/Under: 8500
Over

ARENA 29: [Nagato Yuki] Konjiki no Yami by <=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 30: [Holo] Nymph by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 31: [Yui-nyan] Aragaki Ayase by <=1000
Over/Under: 8500
Over

ARENA 32: [Eucliwood Hellscythe] Shana  by <=1000
Over/Under: 8500
Over

ARENA 33: Kōsaka Kirino [Gokō Ruri (Kuroneko)]  by <=1000
Over/Under: 8500
Over

ARENA 34: [Hirasawa Ui] Izumi Konata  by <=1000
Over/Under: 8300
Over

ARENA 35: Sakagami Tomoyo [Suzumiya Haruhi]  by <=1000
Over/Under: 8500
Over

ARENA 36: Nakano Azusa [Akiyama Mio]  by <=800
Over/Under: 8550
Over

ARENA 37: [Louise Vallière] Furukawa Nagisa  by >=700
Over/Under: 8300
Over