The 2019 Stanley Cup Finals are set and the Boston Bruins will be takin on the St. Louis Blues for Lord Stanley’s Cup. In the series the Bruins will have home ice advantage which may or may not be beneficial, as the Blues have been the best road team in hockey throughout these playoffs. Through the first three rounds of the playoffs, seven out of their twelve wins came on the road including in Winnipeg, Dallas, and San Jose, some of the toughest buildings to play in. On the other hand, the Bruins have definitely been the best team overall in the playoffs as they have won seven straight games to reach the Finals.
Blues Leading Scorers, Goaltender, and Notes
Jaden Schwartz – 12 goals, 4 assists for 16 points.
Ryan O’Reilly – 3 goals, 11 assists for 14 points.
Vladimir Tarasenko – 8 goals, 5 assists for 13 points.
Jordan Binnington – 12-7, 2.37 GAA, .914 save %
·7 of 12 wins came on the road
·Since Game 3 vs the Sharks where the Sharks won in OT on a goal that should have been called a hand-pass, the Blues are 3-0 allowing only 2 goals
·Binnington in the running for the Calder Memorial Trophy (rookie of the year)
·Blues power play, 12-62 in the playoffs, 19.4% is 9th in the NHL playoffs
·At home this postseason: 5-5 record, 29% power play percentage, 82.3% penalty kill
·On the road this postseason: 7-2 record, 9.7% power play percentage, 75% penalty kill
Bruins Leading Scorers, Goaltender, and Notes
Brad Marchand – 7 goals, 11 assists for 18 points.
David Pastrnak – 7 goals, 8 assists for 15 points.
David Krejci – 4 goals, 10 assists for 14 points.
Tuukka Rask – 12-5, 1.84 GAA, .942 save %
·Bruins won 7 straight games dating back to the second round vs Columbus
·Battling injuries, Chara should be good for Game 1, but may still be dealing with a nagging injury
·Chris Wagner likely out
·Kevan Miller likely out
·Long break (10-11 days) for the B’s time will tell if Tuukka cooled off
·Bruins power play 17-50 in the playoffs, 34% leads the NHL in the playoffs
·Patrice Bergeron 6 power play goals
·At home this postseason: 6-3 record, 26.9% power play percentage, 87.5% penalty kill
·On the road this postseason: 6-2 record, 41.7% power play percentage, 85.2% penalty kill
·Sold out a practice scrimmage at TD Garden on Thursday night
When this series kicks off on Monday night in Boston, these teams will be facing off in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1970, the year of the famous Bobby Orr goal. Will we see more history like that this time around? There’s only one way to find out. Tune in on Monday night at 8pm on NBC.