Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues and Laila Anderson celebrate with the Stanley Cup. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Laila Anderson is one special hockey fan.
While it was a bitter end for the Boston Bruins after a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues Wednesday, the 11-year-old from St. Louis had a cool moment at TD Garden at the end of the game.
She got to kiss and hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup on the TD Garden ice with her team!
Anderson is battling a rare, life-threatening autoimmune disease called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, or HLH.
Over the last few months, she’s been in and out of the hospital. Her love and support for her hometown team have been a rallying cry for the Blues this past season, and she's even become close friends with some of the players, who call her their "good luck charm."
With doctors' approval, the Blues surprised Anderson and her mom by flying them out to Boston for Game 7.
Anderson said she couldn't believe it.
“I initially thought it was 100 percent a joke,” she said. "I didn't think I was gonna be there."
Was she nervous?
"Not at all," she said. "I walked into Boston very confident."
What was it like hanging out with Colton Parayko and the Cup?
"I mean, he's my best friend," she said. "That's just the thing he would do."
WBZ NewsRadio's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports