Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-1 loss against the Blues in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, with BSJ insight and analysis:
Box Score
TWO TAKEAWAYS
A disastrous first period...
Through the end of 20 minutes, the Bruins held an edge in:
Shot attempts: 22-8
Shots on goal: 12-4
High-danger scoring chances: 6-3
But things are rarely fair in hockey, and at the end of 20 minutes, the Bruins were mired in a two-goal hole — with a tip from Ryan O’Reilly and a shot from Alex Pietrangelo putting the Blues ahead going into the first intermission. It was a brutal break in favor of the Blues, with O’Reilly tipping home what was just St. Louis’ second SOG of the night at 16:47 in the period.
Things would only get worse with 7.9 seconds remaining in the period, as Brad Marchand inexplicably went for a change with the Blues in the midst of a counter-rush. Despite Boston’s efforts to recover on the fly, the odd-man rush ended with Pietrangelo snapping one past Rask to put the visitors up, 2-0. Just a disastrous ending to a period in which Boston generated a slew of quality looks against Jordan Binnington.
… leads to a crushing night at TD Garden:
Still, for as dominant as players like Binnington and Pietrangelo were all night, a large amount of the onus has to fall on the Bruins themselves for a brutal, no-show performance on one of the biggest nights in franchise history. Unable to recover from the hole they dug for themselves, the Bruins couldn’t do much over the final 40 minutes of regulation — with
Patrice Bergeron
, Marchand,
David Krejci
and
David Pastrnak
limited to just one 5v5 goal in the seven-game series.
THREE UP
Jordan Binnington:
For as shaky as he’s been at times this series, the rookie netminder was absolute nails in Game 7. Based on the number of quality looks the Bruins were able to generate in the opening stanza alone, this very well could have been a two or three-goal lead in favor of the Bruins in the early going. He finished with 32 saves on 33 shots on goal, while setting a new NHL record with 16 playoff wins as a rookie.
Ryan O’Reilly:
The Conn Smythe winner became the first player since
Wayne Gretzky
in 1985 to score a goal in four straight Stanley Cup Final games. The pivot was a monster all series, and played a major role in halting both the Bergeron and Krejci lines during 5v5 play.
Matt Grzelcyk:
Playing in his first game since getting concussed in Game 2 of the Cup Final, Grzelcyk provided the lone spark of offense, snapping Binnington’s shutout with a goal at 17:50 in the final stanza. He logged 17:56 of TOI in the loss.
THREE DOWN
Brad Marchand:
What a disastrous start for Marchand in this one. After failing to bury a puck past Binnington despite a wide-open shooting lane in the slot and a 6-hole ripe for the sniping, Marchand really put his team behind the eight-ball with that horrid decision to change with 10 seconds left in the stanza. He might be gassed, sure. But this is Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Tuukka Rask:
He wasn’t helped by what transpired in front of him, but what an ugly conclusion to a potential Conn Smythe campaign from Rask. For as dominant as he’s been throughout these playoffs, it’s awfully hard to ignore two goals on four shots in the opening period. Still, it’s a shame that the narrative surrounding Rask being “unable to win the big one” will now endure, because he was let out to dry for most of the night.
Boston’s Top Forwards:
This could be far more than a “Three Down” if we really wanted to stretch it out, because Boston’s offense as a whole was a no-show tonight. But we’ll save this for Boston’s top line of Bergeron, Marchand and Pastrnak — who tallied a just one goal and two total points during 5v5 play. With this standing as one of the Boston’s best chances to win with this core, it’s a crushing end.
PLAY OF THE GAME
I mean, what can you really do here? The latest in a number of highlight-reel stops by Binnington was the final nail in the coffin for the Bruins — with
Brayden Schenn
making it a 3-0 game just minutes later.
LOOKING AHEAD
What a disappointing, heartbreaking end to a wild ride this season. The Bruins won’t have much time to sit and reflect on the opportunity squandered in front of them tonight — as the NHL Draft will get underway up in Vancouver starting on June 21.
BostonSportsJournal
will keep you covered every step of the way this offseason — as the Bruins have some interesting decisions to make in the coming weeks.
