“I don’t see the Bruins losing at home three times in one series.”
Okay, what hockey knucklehead scribbled that line?
Oops, I did, and boy was I wrong!
The Boston Bruins earned the dubious distinction of losing three consecutive playoff games at home on Wednesday night with their 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Final.
The surprising Blues finished their improbable skate to their first NHL championship by winning Games Two, Five and Seven on the Bruins home ice and taking the series, 4-3. Road Warriors they were, posting a 10-3 playoff record away from home.
The Bruins had every reason to feel good about their chances to win Game Seven. Facing elimination in Game Six on Sunday, they frustrated the Blues and tens of thousands of St. Louis fans inside and outside the Enterprise Center with a convincing 5-1 triumph. The Bruins returned home knowing their fans would be ready to raise the roof at TD Garden when they outscored the Blues and when captain Zdeno Chara hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup and skated around the Garden ice.
There was only one problem. The Blues knew they were good enough to win on the road. The question was could they do it again. The answer was yes, absolutely yes. St. Louis scored twice in the first period and twice in the third for a commanding 4-0 lead. Even the most optimistic Bruins fan had to know the game was in jeopardy after the first period, and over after the Blues pumped in their third goal. The Bruins played hard to the end but just could not put the puck in the net when it mattered most. Had they scored first, they might have won. Instead, the Blues protected their 2-0 lead with solid defense.
So hail to the champions of the hockey world. St. Louis deserved this victory. They used their size to their advantage, capitalized on Boston miscues and in Game Seven avoided the penalties that gave the Bruins their power play edge earlier in the series.
St. Louis also had a hot goaltender in Jordan Binnington. At times he played like a Hall of Fame goalie, not a rookie. He saw 33 shots Wednesday night and caught, blocked or deflected 32 of them. He stopped blasts from the point and wrist shots from the faceoff circles. He followed bouncing pucks and swept them aside or got a pad in the way just as they were about to trickle over the goal line. He was immense.
Also, let’s admit that the 2019 Blues are a great story. They were in last place in January, led by an interim coach, Craig Berube, and anchored by a rookie goaltender. Berube made the right calls behind he bench, his players responded, and Saturday St. Louis will celebrate with its first Stanley Cup parade. As Bruins fans know, it doesn’t get any better than that.
