The series is now tied at 2-2 after the St. Louis Blues took a 4-2 win at the Enterprise Center on Monday. The Boston Bruins will have to turn up the heat at home in Game 5 on Thursday, as the competition for the Stanley Cup goes down to the wire.
Blues in Control
Before the series began, no one would have expected the Blues to have the upper hand in terms of control, as the St. Louis side has never previously won a game in the Stanley Cup Finals. Now however, Doug Armstrong’s side are 2-2 in the series having just secured a win in Game 4 – largely due to the fact that they controlled possession for 61% of the game in Missouri. The Blues dominated from early on, as Ryan O’Reilly opened the scoring for the Blues just 43 seconds into the game. A goal from Charlie Coyle brought Boston level in the 13th minute, only for the Blues to regain the lead just before the break thanks to a strike from Vladimir Tarasenko with 4 and a half minutes left on the clock.
Boston drew level in the second period with a shorthand goal from Brandon Carlo, but it was not enough to mount a comeback. O’Reilly took his second of the night with just 9 minutes to go in the game, and Brayden Schenn followed suit with just a minute and a half left before the final whistle.
To the Wire
The Bruins faded after the second period in Game 4, and struggled to keep pace with the Blues attack, but will be expected to play aggressively at home on Thursday night. With the extent of captain Zdeno Chara’s injury still unknown – there have been reports that he suffered a broken jaw during the second period of Game 4 – the Bruins could be at a defensive disadvantage, as Matt Grzelcyk also has yet to return to the squad following his concussion from Game 2. Still, the Bruins are keeping their options open – you can’t count anyone out for certain at this stage of the Stanley Cup.
You can check out more odds and predictions on the final two games of the Series at the Wincomparator site.
