Fresh Links: Sweet Charity

There’ll be some Bruin on Bruin action tonight, and chance to see the Black Aces in action- all to benefit the Bruins Foundation.

• A scrimmage like tonight’s is a risk v. reward proposal- here’s why. WEEI
• Looking ahead to the next opponent, assess how the Blues match up against Boston. CBS Sports
• How have the current players drafted and brought up through the Bruins’ system panned out? Boston.com
• As dear as his friends are back in St. Louis, David Backes is all in for his Boston team. MassLive
• The only thing better than Patrice Bergeron is playoff mode Patrice Bergeron, going toe-to-toe against opponents’ best forward lines and stealing their pucks. Causeway Crowd
• A ranking- which Bruins and Blues will have the greatest impact on the outcome of the series? USA Today
• How does the way each team is constructed affect the likely series outcome? ESPN
• We have met the enemy, and he is us- the Bruins and Blues have a lot in common. Patriot Ledger
• Just for fun- five facts about this Stanley Cup Final. WEEI
• A complete turnaround was completed by the Blues beginning January 3rd- how did they do it? New York Times
• Why all the hate for the Bruins? Andrew Raycroft takes a stab at explaining. (Audio, 1:16) CBC Sports
• The Bruins seemingly had an easier road to the final. They owe no apologies to anyone for that. Boston.com

Elsewhere around the rink:

• Reviewing playoff progressions through both conferences, how did we get to the matchup for the Stanley Cup Final? NHL
• Some NHL Stanley Cup head coaches have survived and even thrived after initial career hiccups. CBC
• Joe Thornton retirement watch may have begun, but then again, don’t be quite so hasty. Sports Illustrated
• The scheduled officials and supervisors for the Final have been announced. Due to Wes McCauley’s injury, extras have been named just in case. Scouting the Refs