Well, here we are- Game 7. Winner take all!
Not surprisingly, CBC is showing a boisterous Boston crowd both in the arena and outside.
If there’s one thing this year’s Stanley Cup Finals has proven is that hard heavy hockey still wins. You still need to have some size and toughness to go four full rounds
Chara is playing in his 14th Game 7 tonight. Wow! He holds a record for most Game 7s played! He passes Patrick Roy and Scott Stevens! Talk about an accomplishment!
Apparently, the Blues sold out Enterprise Centre to let fans watch on the big screen. They also drew 30,000 to Busch Stadium for fans to watch this game! Wow!
Don Cherry says the Bruins will win tonight. He also said the Canucks would win back in 2011. I have a long memory!
Scott Oake interviews Charles Barkley before the game! Barkley says he predicted the Blues would win before the series and he’s sticking to it. He also says the Toronto Raptors will win the NBA championship in Game 6 tomorrow. Interesting....
This is the first Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals Game in Boston. Pretty unbelievable when you consider how long the Bruins have been in the NHL.
FIRST PERIOD
The Blues start off pretty good- they have a few good shifts to start. Kind of surprising not to see Bruin dominance at the start of the game.
The Blues don’t score- the tide turns about 4 minutes into the game. The Bruins get it going.
I can tell just by the way these two teams are playing they know the first goal is HUGE. They’re playing tight. Is today first goal wins?
PENALTY- Parayko-Delay of game- Parayko shoots the puck over the glass. The Bruins PP has run at almost 33% in the playoffs. Can the Blues get out of this?
Binnington comes up big on the Blues penalty kill! Several big stops off of Marchand, Bergeron, and Krejci.
The Blues have gone over 10 minutes without a shot.... now 12.... now 14...
O’ Reilly SCORES- 16:47 of the FIRST PERIOD- off a tip! The Blues get a huge first goal against the flow of the play. Unbelievably, the Blues went 16:11 between shots in the first period and now have a lead. Not good for Boston
Pietrangelo SCORES- on a nice backhand shot off a nice pass from Schwartz at 19:52! That goal was a backbreaker. Only 8 seconds left. Brad Marchand made a horrible mistake on it. He went for a line change after getting burned at the blue line by Schwartz. Goat horns, anyone?
Crowd goes silent.
END FIRST
Don Cherry praises the Blues D. They’re blocking a ton of shots. Not giving up much to the Bruins. Says Binnington should get the Conn Smythe and the Calder. Sorry- Elias Pettersson deserves the Calder!
SECOND PERIOD
Bruins start ok- the game appears to be settling in. The Blues are workmanlike. The Bruins are carrying the play, but not getting a huge amount of scoring chances.
O’ Reilly has a 4 game Stanley Cup Final goal scoring streak! The first since Gretzky did it back in 1985! Pretty impressive! He also has broken the Blues playoff point record!
The Blues are still blocking shots- lots of them. Jim Hughson says the Blues are playing a textbook road game- he’s 100% correct!
The fans in Boston are beginning to get restless. I hear some jeers late in the second period- not good for Boston.
END SECOND
Shots: Boston 23 - St Louis 9. It’s a bit of a deceiving stat. The Blues are in control!
The Blues have a 9-1 playoff record when leading after 2 periods.
THIRD PERIOD
The ice is bad in Boston- the puck is bouncing around. It’s hard to come back when you can’t handle the puck.
Both teams are very well disciplined. Only one penalty tonight, although the Bruins are clamouring for some!
With about 10 minutes left- Binnington robs Nordstrom- Binnington is on his stomach and he makes a right pad save. Highway robbery!
Schenn SCORES- off a nice pass from Tarasenko at 11:25- looks like it’s over.
3-0 Blues!
Sanford SCORES- 15:32! The Stanley Cup drought is about to end for St Louis! 4-0 for the Blues!
The Bruins pull Rask with about 4 minutes left. Why not?
Gryzelcyk SCORES- 17:50. No shutout. But who needs a shutout when you have a Cup!
END THIRD
The St Louis Blues are Stanley Cup Champions!
Ryan O’ Reilly wins the Conn Smythe and swears on live tv! Doesn’t get any better than that!
Now the longest Stanley Cup drought belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs!
Onto the NHL Entry Draft!
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