Eagles Chris Kreider, Brian Boyle in 2014 Stanley Cup Finals

Former Boston College Eagles hockey players Chris Kreider and Brian Boyle, with their Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers, are in the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in their NHL careers.

The Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals in New York City on Thursday night, 1-0, to win the series four games to two.

Brian Boyle had the primary assist on the only goal of the game, scored by Harvard product Dominic Moore late in the second period.

For the Rangers, it’s an incredible story of a team that struggled at times and had to work hard to make the playoffs, but kept finding a way to stave off defeat and ride the wave all the way to the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals. En route to where they are, they defeated a sans-Eagles Philadelphia Flyers team, but then beat two teams with Boston College representatives: the Pittsburgh Penguins (multiple players, including Brian Gibbons and Brooks Orpik) and the Canadiens (Brian Gionta).

For Kreider and Boyle, however, this is a chance to add a mighty impressive piece of hardware to their collections and make their old coach Jerry York very, very proud. All Boston College Eagles are proud of what those two have done in helping the Rangers win the Eastern Conference, and sure enough, Coach York probably has a beaming smile on his face tonight.

The Rangers will face either the Los Angeles Kings or the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals. If the latter, Boston College will be guaranteed at least one more name etched on Lord Stanley’s Cup: former Eagle Ben Smith plays for Chicago and was part of their championship team last season.