They won with their depth. They won with their togetherness. They won with a belief that, no matter what happens, they can overcome whatever situation is thrown their way.

“I can’t explain it to you any better, but these guys are different,” Maurice said. “They talk about each other differently than I’ve experienced — and listen, I’ve been really lucky. I haven’t had a real tough room in my entire career, but I’ve never had a room where the players talk about each other in such a positive way, celebrate the other players’ accomplishments and not go ‘Well, if you played me more, I could do what he does.’ There’s none of that. And also [they’re] a highly interactive group. So in those conversations, they’re asking you questions about your kids and all of it. It’s just completely different. It comes from them that connection that they have.”

That got them through a regular season in which they never lost more than four consecutive games and ultimately won the Atlantic Division.

That got them past Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, eliminating their in-state rival from the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

That got them past the Boston Bruins in the second round, eliminating the division foe for a second consecutive season.

That got them past the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference final, eliminating the Presidents’ Trophy winner for a second consecutive year.

And that culminated with the franchise winning its first Stanley Cup on Monday.

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