Location: TD Garden
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET; (NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS)
The Boston Bruins will start the series at home against the St. Louis Blues for the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. This will be the third Stanley Cup Final appearance in ten years for the Boston Bruins. The Bruins should be fresh and well rested after having 10 days off.
As for the Blues, this will be their first Cup Final since 1970 when they got swept by the Blues. The franchise has yet to record a win in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Blues punched their ticket for the Stanley Cup Final after winning 5-1 in Game 6 against the San Jose Sharks.
There are no words. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/5wY1d6PvGX
— NHL (@NHL) May 27, 2019
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington will start his first career Stanley Cup Final game tonight. Binnington, 25, is on a three-game winning streak with a 0.67 goals-against average and .974 save percentage. He could become the third rookie goaltender in NHL history to win 13 wins in the playoffs.
He needs one win to become the third rookie goalie in NHL history to win in each of his team’s first 13 wins in the same postseason.
Do the @NHLBruins have a plan to solve Jordan Binnington? #NHLNow pic.twitter.com/uYjrVBDQwD
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) May 27, 2019
Binnington and the Blues will be facing off against Conn Smythe candidate, Tuukka Rask. This will be the third Stanley Cup Final series for Rask, who has the advantage of experience in the big stage. He was no.2 goaltender behind Tim Thomas and didn’t play in 2011 when Boston won. In 2013 he was the No.1 goaltender when they lost in six games against the Chicago Blackhawks. Rask is coming into the series on a seven-game win streak, with a 1.29 GAA and .961 save percentage.
Tuukka Rask of the @NHLBruins owns a .942 SV% entering the #StanleyCup Final, better than his total in the 2013 postseason which was tied for the 5th-highest SV% in a playoff year (min. 15 GP).
More #NHLStats: https://t.co/2idb3mWPiF pic.twitter.com/6w9uUYy5Cd
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 26, 2019
The Bruins had been dominate in both the power-play and penalty-kill. They are first in the playoffs on the power-play (34 %) and fourth in the penalty kill (86.3%). During the seven-game win streak, they had been 37.5 % on the power play. During the conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes, they had a whopping 46.7% (7-for-15) and 95.8 % on the penalty kill (23-for24).
The Bruins’ power play is elite – but they may not get many chances to show it off. https://t.co/VpX6SeQc9U
— Stanley Cup of Chowder (@cupofchowdah) May 27, 2019
The Blues need to focus on staying discipline to avoid Boston’s top power-play lineup. Their special teams are nothing great compared to Boston’s. Overall in the playoffs, they have a 19.4% power-play and 78% penalty kill. In the last five games, they improved in power-play being 5-for 15 (33.3 %)
Both Bruins and Blues have a strong forecheck system. One of the reasons why both teams made it to the Finals was being aggressive on the forecheck. They made it hard for their opponents to break out of the defensive zones. Whoever has a stronger forecheck should have the advantage in this series. The goal is to limit offensive chances and being tough on the neutral zone.
A strong defensive forward is key for both offenses. Blues center Ryan O’Reilly and Bruins center Patrice Bergeron are a finalist for the Selke Trophy, the award for the best defensive forward in the NHL. Besides the Binnington versus Rask matchup, this one is where we should keep our eyes on. Blues head coach Craig Berube will try to put O’Reilly’s line against Bergeron’s line. This game plan is to slow down Boston’s top line of Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak.
LIVE: Blues Head Coach Craig Berube meets with the media prior to Game 1 of the #StanleyCup Final. https://t.co/ldFIo6y6LE
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) May 27, 2019
Blues defenseman will miss Game 1. He has not played since Game 3 against the San Jose Sharks when he got hit on the mouth from a shot from Brenden Dillon. In 16 Stanley Cup Playoff Game, Dunn scored seven points (two goals, five assists).
Today Dunn took part of the morning skate and paired with Michael Del Zotto. Carl Gunnarsson is expected to fill in for Dunn as he did for Games 4-6. In three games, Gunnarsson is plus-1 and averaged 11:47 of ice time.
The Blues will be without injured defenseman Vince Dunn in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight against the Bruins. But he’s “pretty close” to returning to the lineup, according to coach Craig Berube.
Our @TomGulittiNHL has the story:https://t.co/1bJXck7ouc
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) May 27, 2019
Forwards
Jaden Schwartz — Brayden Schenn — Vladimir Tarasenko
Sammy Blais — Ryan O’Reilly — David Perron
Pat Maroon — Tyler Bozak — Robert Thomas
Ivan Barbashev — Oskar Sundqvist — Alexander Steen
Defense
Joel Edmundson — Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester — Colton Parayko
Carl Gunnarsson — Robert Bortuzzo
Starting Goalie
Forwards
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes
Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen
Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari
Defense
Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Clifton
Starting Goalie
Tuukka Rask
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