BOSTON — The Boston Bruins left their home ice for the final time in a jubilant line, waving and clapping back at the adoring Garden crowd. Tim Thomas returned for one last loop as the first star in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals, triumphantly waving his stick above his head.

With three blowout victories at home in the Stanley Cup finals, the Bruins picked a wonderful way to leave town for the last time this season.

When they return from Vancouver in two days, they might even have the Cup with them.

Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic and Andrew Ference scored in the first 8:35 to chase Roberto Luongo from another game in Boston, and the Bruins sent the Stanley Cup finals to a decisive seventh game with a 5-2 victory over the Canucks on Monday night.

The NHL’s champion will be decided Wednesday night, and the Bruins believe they’re ready to end their 39-year Stanley Cup drought.

“Not too many people counted on us being at this point right now,” said Thomas, who has allowed just eight goals in six finals games. “It’s a great feeling. We battled hard tonight. We came to play, and it’s coming down to one game. This is what we dream of, when you’re little kids playing street hockey, you know, you’re in Game 7.”

Thomas made 36 saves for the Bruins, giving up two third-period goals but still burnishing his credentials for the Conn Smythe Trophy. He played with little tension after the Bruins ventilated his Vancouver counterpart, sending Luongo to the bench early after he allowed 15 goals in roughly 4Z\x periods in Boston.

Marchand whistled a shot over Luongo’s shoulder for the first goal. Lucic then trickled another through his pads 35 seconds later, and Ference’s power-play goal doomed Vancouver’s $10 million goalie.

The Canucks could have raised the Stanley Cup, but the Bruins refused to allow a Garden party.

“We wanted to make sure if we went down, we went down fighting,” Marchand said.

Only Luongo went down. The Bruins put the Canucks goalie and the Stanley Cup back on the shelf — and back on a plane to the West Coast for Game 7 on Wednesday night.

“I’m proud of the guys,” said Bruins forward Mark Recchi, who had three assists. “We had our backs to the wall, we’ve been resilient all year, and we came out and had a great first period and did what we had to do, and it comes down to Game 7. It‘s one game now.”

For the sixth time in 10 seasons, the finals have been stretched to the limit. The home team hasn’t lost in this series, with Vancouver winning three one-goal games, and Boston posting three blowout victories. But the Bruins are riding a wave of momentum toward their first title since 1972 with three wins in four games.

Last season’s NHL MVP Henrik Sedin scored his first point of the finals with a late power-play goal for the Canucks, who flopped in their first attempt to win the franchise’s first championship. Maxim Lapierre also scored in the third period for the Canucks, who will get one last try at Rogers Arena in front of fretful Vancouverites hoping Luongo and their maddening team can come through.

Thomas has turned in a virtuoso performance in the finals — but the spotlight in Game 6 was trained squarely on the other net. Luongo led Vancouver to the brink of a title with a stellar performance in a 1-0 victory Friday, but he had nothing on Monday.

“You can’t hang your head and feel sorry for yourself,” Luongo said. “That’s the worst thing I could do. ... I had a good feeling all day. Before the series started, I said I enjoyed playing in this building. Just got to move on right now. Got to believe in myself, right?”

Boston even set a finals record with four goals in 4:14 while chasing Luongo and welcoming his backup, Cory Schneider, with a quick goal from Michael Ryder.

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault wasted no time confirming Luongo will start Game 7 in Vancouver, where he already has two shutouts in the series.

“I dont have to say anything to him,” Vigneault said. “He’s a professional. His preparation is beyond reproach, and he’s going to be ready for Game 7. ... It happened. There’s nothing we can do about it. We’ve already turned the page on that, and we’re going back home.”

The Bruins are one win away from the Original Six franchise’s first championship since 1972. Boston has lost its last five trips to the finals, never even reaching a seventh game — but the Bruins can hang another banner in the Garden rafters with one road win.

And the Bruins have ample experience in Game 7. They’ve already played two in these playoffs, beating Montreal in the first round and Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference finals — but both of those games were at home, where Boston finished the postseason with 10 wins in its last 11 games.

If Vancouver can’t regroup in the next 48 hours after another East Coast collapse, the Canucks will waste the best regular season in franchise history.