After 50+ years, the St. Louis Blues finally did it. No, they didn’t win the cup yet, I’m talking about earning their first Stanley Cup Finals win in franchise history. Yesterday felt great for life long Blues fans. They got swept in their first three Stanley Cup Finals in ’68,’69, and ’70. Since then they haven’t been back until now and it only took two games for their first win. The Blues tied the series at one with game three of the Stanley Cup Finals going back to St. Louis for the first time in 49 years.
St. Louis Blues Earn First Stanley Cup Finals Win in Franchise History
Blues tie the series at 1-1
The St. Louis Blues defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 in overtime on a goal by Carl Gunnarsson to tie the series at one headed to St. Louis. At the start of the game Blues fans were like here we go again. The Bruins took a 1-0 lead in the game on a power-play goal by Charlie Coyle. The Blues answered as Robert Bortuzzo scored minutes later on a deflection off a Bruins defender to tie it at one. That didn’t last long at all as Joakim Nordstrom gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead just 36 seconds after the Blues tied it. Minutes later the Blues tie it again on a goal by Vladimir Tarasenko off of a two on one rush with Jaden Schwartz. Tarasenko’s willingness to stay with the play and get that shot in the net shows how much skill he has.
This all came in the first so it stayed tied at two until overtime. The Blues dominated the overtime session. The Blues held the Bruins to no shots on goal, no scoring chances, and the Blues lead 5-0 in hits. Just a few minutes and unlikely hero, Carl Gunnarsson scores on a delayed penalty for a 3-2 Blues victory.
Numbers Reversed For Game Two
The Blues took a 2-0 lead in game one and then got out-played in the second and third period. The Bruins dominated the rest of the game and beat the Blues 4-2 to take a 1-0 series lead. The Blues had a response in game two and reversed the play. Even though the Bruins took the Blues to overtime, the numbers say the Blues had the better of the play. After the Blues got out-shot 38-20 in game one, the Blues came back in game two and out-shot the Bruins 37-23. The Blues only allowed one power-play in five chances for the second consecutive game. The Blues outhit the Bruins by one in game one but in game two, outhit them 50-31.
Throughout the whole game, the Blues inserted their physicality and made the hustle plays they failed to make in game two. They won scrums for the puck in the corners and put the big bodies on them. The Blues were where they needed to be. The Blues had a way better fore-check then in game one and they kept the puck in the Bruins zone multiple times for extended periods of time. The pressure was great by the Blues in this game and they played a way different game.
Goaltender Jordan Binnington let in two goals in the first and he might tell you that he maybe could have stopped those but other than that he was outstanding. He made huge saves and didn’t let the other team grab the momentum. The biggest save was late in the third on a shot from the slot by the Bruins and Binnington got a piece of it. On the other side, Tuukka Rask was very good as well but the Blues applied too much pressure throughout the game and got the winning goal on him. The Blues needed this game and they adjusted to what happened in game one.
Last Word
There’s still a lot of work to do if the Blues want to raise the cup for the first time in franchise history. Game three in St. Louis will be electric as the Bruins now have a chance to respond. This was a great win for anybody associated or connected to the Blues. Fans hope this is not the only win in the Stanley Cup Finals in team History as they just need three more wins to capture the ultimate prize. Game three will be on Saturday night, June 1st, at 7:00 pm central in St. Louis at the Enterprise Center.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
