In 1924, at the convincing of Boston grocery tycoon Charles Adams, the National Hockey League decided to expand to the United States. Adams had fallen in love with hockey while watching the 1924 Stanley Cup Finals between the NHL champion Montreal Canadiens and the WCHL champion Calgary Tigers. He persuaded the NHL to grant him a franchise for Boston, which occurred on November 1, 1924. With the Montreal Maroons, the team was one of the NHL’s first expansion teams.

The 1929 Stanley Cup Finals NHL championship series was played by the defending champion New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins. This was the first time in Stanley Cup history that two American-based teams met in the Final. Boston won the series to win its first championship.

The 1941 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven series between the Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings. Boston would win the series 4–0 to win their third Stanley Cup.

The 1970 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues, appearing in their third straight finals. The Bruins were making their first appearance in the final since 1958. The Bruins would win the series 4–0, their first Stanley Cup victory in 29 years. Bobby Orr scored the Cup-winning goal on Glenn Hall, with an assist from Derek Sanderson, at forty seconds of overtime, and the subsequent image of Orr flying through the air, his arms raised in victory he had been tripped by Blues’ defenseman Noel Picard at the moment of shooting is one of the most famous and recognized hockey images of all time.

The 1972 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers. It was the Rangers first appearance in the championship final series since 1950. The Bruins were making their first appearance since their victory in the 1970 Finals. It was the second Boston-New York Final series, the other being the 1929 Finals. The Bruins would win the best-of-seven series four games to two.

The 2011 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL) 2010–11 season, and the culmination of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was the 118th year of the Stanley Cup’s presentation. The Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins defeated the Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks four games to three. The Bruins ended a 39-year Stanley Cup drought with the win. Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.