With the series tied at 1-1, the Boston Bruins arrived at Enterprise Center determined to make a statement, and boy, did they. The Bruins know what’s at stake, and as they looked upon photos of past Stanley Cup victories that decorated their dressing room, the team was reminded to embrace the challenge. The ultimate prize is within reach, and the boys in Black and Gold overcame a head-hunting St. Louis team, defeating them in spectacular fashion 7-2 . The series is now 2-1 in Boston’s favor.
STRONG START
In what was supposed to be a special homecoming in St. Louis, things quickly went downhill for the Blues. For St. Louis, this was the first Stanley Cup final game played there since 1970. Despite the obvious pronounced physicality in an attempt to rattle the Bruins, Boston did not bite. The Bruins went four-for-four on the powerplay last night, and scored four goals in five shots. The first goal of the night came off a power-play, as Patrice Bergeron scored off a deflection from Torey Krug’s wrist shot. Charlie Coyle would score later off the rush, making it 2-0.
In the last moments of the first period Sean Kuraly would score on a wrist shot, making it 3-0. St. Louis, however, did challenge the goal as offside, but officials along with the Situation Room kept the call on ice. The Blues were assessed a penalty after the failed challenge (delay of game penalty) and Boston was on the power play going into the second. David Pastrnak would score 41 seconds in, making the score 4-0.
SINGING THE BLUES
St. Louis got on the board at 11:05 in the second period when Ivan Barbashev scored, making it 4-1. However, Krug would send one in on a power-play a minute after, making the score 5-1. Blues’ goalie Jordan Binnington was shortly pulled out and Jake Allen would step in. St. Louis would get a power-play in the third period, and Colton Parayko would score at 5:24. With an empty net down St. Louis’s end during the last five minutes of the game, Noel Acciari easily netted the puck, making it 6-2. With Allen back in the net, Marcus Johansson would bury one past him, making the final score 7-2.
QUICK STATS
Binnington allowed five goals on 19 shots, and was pulled for the first time in his 52 start career. Jake Allen had three saves for the night. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask made 27 saves on 29 shots, and has a save percentage of .939 with a goals-against-average of 1.91. Defenseman Torey Krug had a historic night as he became the first Bruins in history to have four points in a Stanley Cup Final game with one goal and three assists. Patrice Bergeron also had three points with one goal and two assists. He leads the playoffs with seven power-play goals.
“I think it was just a night where everything went our way. We tried to be more decisive and assertive getting pucks to the net after one or two passes.”
Bruins Torey Krug
The Bruins will be looking to continue playing to their skill over hitting as they face the Blues this Monday night in St. Louis.
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