The Boston Bruins came into their first-ever Stanley Cup Final Game 7 on home ice looking for a coronation and a bookend title for five venerable veterans.
Instead, they watched the St. Louis Blues hoist their first-ever Stanley Cup after goaltender Jordan Binnington put on a Tim Thomas-esque show in net, and the Bruins couldn't muster consistent offense from their top lines.
Yes, a season in which many questioned whether the Bruins had enough beyond their Perfection Line to win a title, ended with everyone wondering where their top line vanished to.
After the Blues came out flying, the Bruins dominated most of the first period but found themselves trailing 2-0 going into the break after Brad Marchand exited the ice on a chance with under 15 seconds left.
Binnington had a shutout until there was 2:10 left with the goaltender pulled. He made 32 saves, as the Bruins outshot the Blues 33-20.
Sean Kuraly, David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle were all minus-2 for the Bruins.
Ryan O'Reilly was the Conn Smythe winner as the postseason MVP.
_______________________
__________________
- After missing the previous four games due to a concussion, Matt Grzelcyk is listed as a game-time decision for tonight, with Bruce Cassidy noting that he expects the defenseman to be good to go. If he’s cleared, he will slot in on the third D pairing, with Connor Clifton expected to come out of the lineup. While it can be risky to tinker with Boston’s lineup, Grzelcyk’s ability on the breakout could be a huge plus against the Blues forecheck.
- History, generally speaking, is on the side of the Bruins in this game, with home teams boasting a .750 win percentage (12-4) during Game 7 of the Cup Final. Here are another seven reasons why Boston should be hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup later tonight.
- Wednesday's showdown will mark 35 years to the day of the last Game 7 of a championship series held in Boston. Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics beat Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals on June 12, 1984.
- This will be the fifth Game 7 in a championship series between teams based in Boston and St. Louis, and fourth contested in Boston. The Celtics defeated the St. Louis Hawks at Boston Garden in the 1957 and 1960 NBA Finals, while the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in the 1967 World Series and at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis in the 1946 World Series. Super Bowl XXXVI was icing on the cake.
- Zdeno Chara is set to become the all-time leader by skating in his 14th career Game 7 on Wednesday, surpassing both Scott Stevens and Patrick Roy. His record-setting appearance would come 16 years and 20 days after his first career Game 7, Brad Marchand, who tallied 2-1—3 and a +3 rating in Boston’s Cup-clinching victory in 2011, sits one point shy of matching Red Kelly (2-2—4 in 4 GP) for the most career points in Stanley Cup Final Game 7s.
- After assisting on the Bruins’ opening goal in Game 6, Torey Krug (1-5—6 in 6 GP) now sits two points shy of matching the franchise record for points by a defenseman in a Stanley Cup Final. Franchise legend Bobby Orr is the only Bruins blueliner with more points in the Final, tallying 3-4—7 in 1974 against the Flyers (6 GP) and 4-4—8 in 1972 against the Rangers (6 GP). Overall, Krug leads the NHL in assists and all defensemen in points during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs (2-16—18 in 23 GP). He can become the fourth defenseman in franchise history to reach the 20-point mark in a postseason – a feat that has only been achieved by Ray Bourque (3x), Orr (2x) and Brad Park (1x).