Category Archives: 2019 Stanley Cup Final

2019 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Bruins 1 Comment

Blues beat Bruins, win 2019 Stanley Cup

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In a do-or-die, winner take all matchup, the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup in the franchise’s 52-year history by knocking off the Boston Bruins at home by a 4-1 score.

The B’s surged early, but could not solve rookie Jordan Binnington, who became the first goalie with rookie status to win 16 playoff games by holding the fort with some stellar stops when Boston owned the play early on.

Goals by Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) Ryan O’Reilly and captain Alex Pietrangelo late in the 1st stunned the home team and the B’s never recovered.

The Blues, after scoring 2 goals on 4 shots in the first period, locked things down by collapsing their D down in front of their net and jamming Boston’s ability to generate speed through the neutral zone in the second and third periods. By shrinking the zone in the defensive end, they dared the Bruins to carry pucks through a maze of bodies and sticks to the net, and the Black and Gold couldn’t get it done.

Goals in the third period by Brayden Schenn and New Hampshire native/Pinkerton Astro Zach Sanford put the game out of reach, but the two goals in the first would have been enough. Matt Grzelcyk’s late tally from David Krejci broke the shutout, but was far too little, too late. It was great to see the Charlestown native return to action after getting taken out in Game 2 by a hit from behind courtesy of Oskar Sundqvist, but ultimately, the B’s simply didn’t get enough from their top players in this one.

There’s far more to say, and the details behind the loss are legion, but that is for another day. The Bruins are rightfully devastated after coming so close, while the Blues can look forward to the euphoria that accompanies a long-suffering franchise like the one that has resided in St. Louis since 1967. They made a remarkable worst-to-first run, capping it off with a Cinderella win against the odds. The myriad books about this season will be worth reading.

But for now- we’ll tip the cap to both teams, but only one could win- and the fact that this one got away from the Bruins is going to sting for a long, long time.

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Game 7: Win or Die

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Tuukka Rask (Photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

Well, here we are.

It’s Game 7 at TD Garden- last hockey game of the 2018-19 season for the honor of lifting the Stanley Cup overhead.

Boston Bruins are at home against the St. Louis Blues, who had the higher-seeded B’s on the ropes but couldn’t close the deal in Game 6. Now, it’s time to settle the matter of who will lay final claim to the title of world champions.

The B’s took a furious flurry of punches by the Blues in the early minutes of Game 6, with a frenzied, frothing-at-the-mouth crowd of St. Louis faithful hoping to see their team capture its first-ever Stanley Cup victory on home ice. Alas for them, Tuukka Rask and the more experienced Bruins had other plans.

Brad Marchand’s first period 5-on-3 goal drew first blood and the Bruins never really looked back after that, getting the winner from an unlikely source in defenseman Brandon Carlo, whose point shot skipped off the ice and past Jordan Binnington to make it 2-0 in an eventual 5-1 drubbing. Even rookie buzzsaw forward Karson Kuhlman got into the act, the undrafted free agent netting his first career playoff goal with a laser beam at the perfect time. It doesn’t hurt that Bruce Cassidy and his coaching staff are pushing all the right buttons.

At the other end of the spectrum, it didn’t help that the St. Louis Post Dispatch accidentally pushed out some content meant for publication in the event that the Blues took care of business at home. That kind of an unforced error seems inconceivable in this day and age, and yet- it showed the decided lack of experience St. Louis has as opposed to Boston when it comes to the matter of winning championships. Whatever…those silly gaffes didn’t play a role in the big win the visiting team leveled on the Blues, but it does show how thirsty that team’s fans are for a Stanley Cup- something they haven’t enjoyed in the 52 years of the franchise’s existence.

So, now it ends. A new champion will be crowned tonight, and the momentum is with the Bruins.

Unlike Game 5, when the B’s had lost Game 4 to the Blues on the road, the home team is returning with the confidence of a big victory under the belt, and the experience factor may be just too much for the younger, upstart Blues to overcome. After all, Zdeno Chara is about to appear in his NHL-record 14th seventh game.

And the Bruins are no strangers to Game 7’s in the Stanley Cup Final- they went the distance eight years ago in Vancouver.  Different team, different situation, but the core of Boston’s veteran team saw it and lived it- they’ll know precisely what they’re up against tonight.  Only…they’ll have the pure energy of their fanbase behind them as the B’s play in the first SCF Game 7 in franchise history. The late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan will be watching from above, and he knows…nobody is gonna be a-knockin’ when that TD Garden gets a-rockin’.

The Bruins will be ready when the puck drops tonight and with an atmosphere reminiscent of the epic 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning to close out the 2011 Eastern Conference Final, the Black and Gold will have a full wind at their backs.

Last week, the Omaha Lancers of the USHL held the team’s main tryout camp at Ralston Arena in Nebraska, and a familiar face was on hand in our building to watch his son make the team. 2001-born forward Cam Recchi is a chip off the old block- looks like his dad and plays like him, too (which is great news for the Lancers). Cam was 10 years old when he watched as Mark lifted the Stanley Cup over his head one last time (as a player- he’s won 2 more since as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization) and skated off into the sunset with three rings.

As the time ticked down on Boston’s 2-1 Game 5 loss on the big screen televisions in the Ralston Arena’s Side Room lounge where Lancers players and their families gathered to watch a clash of titans, I stood next to Rex, one of the most beloved Bruins players in his three-season run to finish his Hockey Hall of Fame career.

“You guys lost Game 5 in Vancouver- what was the feeling going back to Boston for Game 6?”, I asked.

“We knew we were going to win the Cup,” Recchi said without missing a beat. “Vancouver was at their breaking point. They were worn down- it took everything out of them to beat us in that game, and we could sense they had very little left and momentum was in our favor.”

Swing it did, and the 2011 Bruins decisively beat the Canucks in two straight to secure the sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history, doing so on the road. The script didn’t quite play out the same way, but yet here we are- Game 7…winner take all.

“They’ve got this,” said Recchi as we walked away when the final horn sounded with the Blues up 3-2 in the series. “There are just too many experienced warriors in that room, and you can’t say enough about what that does for you.”

The Bruins are back home and in familiar territory, having beaten the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of their opening round series way back in April, which seems like a lifetime ago. The only thing is- they’ve had three more series of battles to hone their skills to a keen edge.

The Blues have done well to get this far- they are the heavy, nasty team we were all told they are. They’ve given the veteran club some serious punches, but as the old saying goes, If you’re going to kill the king, you’d better not miss.

The Blues took their best shot in Game 5 and had a chance to close it out in Game 6, but their trajectory went wide…and miss they did.

Tonight, the Blues are in the crosshairs.

Let the final game begin.

2019 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Bruins, Charles McAvoy, Charlie Coyle, Danton Heinen, David Pastrnak, Joakim Nordstrom, John Moore, Marcus Johansson, Matt Grzelcyk, Noel Acciari, Patrice Bergeron, Sean Kuraly, Torey Krug, Tuukka Rask , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Meet me in St. Louie, Louie…B’s blow ’em out 7-2

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14 down, 2 wins to go.

The Boston Bruins sandwiched dominant wins between an OT loss in games 1-3 of the Stanley Cup final series, smashing the home St. Louis Blues by a 7-2 score Saturday, including 4 power play goals, a first with Torey Krug’s 4-point night- the only time a Bruin has tallied that number in a final game, and another top effort in net from Tuukka Rask.

Krug has been unbelievable in the playoffs, as has been Rask. I’s ironic that the two most polarizing players for Bruins fans are the ones who are the most deserving of Conn Smythe consideration should the B’s close the deal- and remember- 14 wins doesn’t win squat. Krug has been a man on a mission- always a player motivated by doubters and skeptics who just look at his smaller size and make judgments about his ability to be an impact NHL D. The same people who give big, mobile defensemen who are complete and total liabilities with the puck on their stick have little to no time for Krug, but his play has been so good this postseason, that even the most obtuse of haters out there have no choice but to be silent. It’s been great to see. Ditto Rask. He’s a world class talent in net who hasn’t always played like it, but to his complete and total credit- he’s thus far taken his game to the highest level, and that’s the difference.

Now, on to some other observations about Game 3…

The B’s got the scoring going when Patrice Bergeron tipped home a textbook point shot from Krug, the first of four man advantage strikes. In fact, the B’s logged just 2:06 on the four power plays they had, because they scored on a perfect 4 of 4 shots- 3 surrendered by Jordan Binnington and one final PPG given up by Jake Allen to Marcus Johansson late in the game.

The Blues have a problem. They don’t have the talent to match the Bruins player-for-player, nor do they have the experience this B’s club has. So, they have to play a tough, physical game- but the Blues were running around trying to level kill shots all night, and the end result was catastrophic for them: they can’t hit and intimidate if they cross the line and go to the box, because Boston’s lethal power play will absolutely make them pay…and it has, with PP goals in every game thus far. Game 3’s special teams play for the B’s was sublime, though- they became the first NHL playoff team to tally 4 power play markers in the SCF since the Colorado Avalanche did it against John Vanbiesbrouck and the Florida Panthers in 1996. For perspective, Charlie McAvoy was still over a year away from being born when that happened. The Boston PKers did surrender their first power play goal to the Blues in the series- a shot that hit Brandon Carlo and deflected in (both goals against Rask ticked in off the bodies/skates of B’s D).

With Matt Grzelcyk out of action thanks to a head hit from Oskar Sundqvist (suspended for Game 3), John Moore was next man up and played well. Although he’s been criticized for not having the anticipated impact when Don Sweeney signed him last July, Moore perfectly illustrates the disparity in depth the B’s enjoy over their Western Conference counterparts. Moore kept it simple and used his mobility to good effect, playing a strong defense-first game. The B’s are likely to be without Grzelcyk for the remainder of the series and Kevan Miller is done as well- yet the team’s D remains capable and up to the task.

Although Brad Marchand has yet to get untracked offensively in this series (and he was atrocious in Boston’s 3-2 OT loss in Game 2), Bergeron and David Pastrnak had nice bounce-back games.

But it is Boston’s third and fourth lines that have been the difference and exposed the disparity in depth between the clubs. After Charlie Coyle buried a perfect Johansson pass (secondary assist to Danton Heinen, who had his best game of the series) for his eighth goal of the postseason to make it 2-0, Sean “Clutch” Kuraly stunned the home crowd with a five-hole shot with just 8 seconds or so left in the opening frame to give the B’s a 3-0 lead. Kudos to Joakim Nordstrom, who, though entered the zone ahead of the puck, was not ruled offside because Blues D Joel Edmundson (man, has he been bad this series…P.U.!!!) carried it in…took it away from Edmundson and kicked it to Kuraly who trailed the play and buried the shot.

Blues hero Binnington was grody in Game 3…giving up 5 goals on 19 shots before getting the hook. He’s been beatable this series and isn’t playing with the kind of lights-out mentality that his team needs right now. Allen went in after Krug’s power play marker made it 5-1, but the B’s didn’t get much going in terms of shots until later on in the affair.

Noel Acciari even got into the scoring act- scoring the sixth goal into an empty net. He’s got one more goal in this series than does Blues sniper Jaden Schwartz…just saying. Ryan O’Reilly…sleeping giant? Let him sleep.

Overall, it was a statement game from the Bruins- on paper, we all know they are the better team. Saturday night at the Enterprise Center, they went out and proved it.

2019 Stanley Cup Final, 3 Amigos, Boston Bruins, Dominic Tiano, Podcasts, Reed Duthie , , , 1 Comment

3 Amigos Podcast: 2019 Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Final Preview Show- B’s-Blues!

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Bergeron3

The 3 Amigos are back once again with our first broadcast since before Christmas with a special 90-minute preview show of the 2019 SCF.

Dom, Kirk and Reed dish on the season that was, how the Bruins got here, recap the free agent signings, trade deadline deals and what has transpired in the playoffs to get the B’s to this point- their 3rd SCF appearance since 2011. For context, after the Bruins made it to the championship round in 1988 and 1990 (losing both times to the Edmonton Oilers dynasty), they didn’t reach it again for another 21 years, beating the Vancouver Canucks and then giving the Chicago Blackhawks a tough battle two years later.

Now the B’s are back and we break it all down for you.

The pod also talks possible opponents, analyzing both the St. Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks because we could only make our schedules happen before Game 6 of the Western Conference Final. As you all know now, the Blues prevailed at home and will face the B’s in the playoffs for the first time since Bobby Orr soared 49 years ago.

Here it is: you can listen to the 90+ minute podcast right here or proceed to Soundcloud to download and listen later at the link below.

Sound Cloud link:

 

 

2019 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Bruins, Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Bruce Cassidy, Charles McAvoy, Charlie Coyle, Chris Wagner, Connor Clifton, Danton Heinen, David Backes, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Don Sweeney, Jake DeBrusk, Joakim Nordstrom, John Moore, Karson Kuhlman, Marcus Johansson, Matt Grzelcyk, Noel Acciari, Patrice Bergeron, Scott Bradley, Torey Krug, Tuukka Rask, Zdeno Chara , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Bruins in their 3rd Stanley Cup Final since 2011

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The Boston Bruins are back to playing for Lord Stanley’s glittering prize- they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in 2011 for the first NHL championship parade in Boston since 1972, came up short in 2013 against the Chicago Blackhawks and now join the Windy City team as the only the second team this decade to reach the SCF three times.

How did we get here?

Tampa Bay and Washington both flamed out in the first round, opening the door for the B’s (or as old Blue Eyes used to croon “Luck be a lady tonight…”) to handily defeat Columbus and Carolina after battling it out with the Toronto Maple Leafs in a second consecutive 1st-round seven-game barn-burner of a series. Out West, wagons like Calgary and 2018 SCF runner-up Vegas were knocked out in the first round as well. Not a bad draw when all is said and done, but no matter who you have to play- winning a championship is never easy.

Now, onto some thoughts on the players:

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