It has finally come, the rematch of 49 years ago has arrived. the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals is etched in history of Bobby Orr flying through the sky after scoring the game winning goal for the Boston Bruins over the St. Louis Blues. Now it is time for these two to face eachother again.
For the Boston Bruins this will be their third appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals this decade as they won the Stanley Cup in 2011 over the Vancouver Canucks, and then lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. The Bruins will look to close the decade with their second Stanley Cup victory over the Blues.
How Did They Get Here?
The Bruins in the first round went to a full seven game series with their long time rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs. Then in the second round the Bruins were able to best the Columbus Blue Jackets in six games, and in the Conference Finals they would sweep the Carolina Hurricanes in four games.
Offense:
In the regular season the Bruins averaged 3.134 Goals Forward, while in the playoffs they have been lead by their top offensive players with Brad Marchand has been leading the way with 7 goals, 11 assists for 18 points. Plus the Bruins have been getting contributions from David Pastrnak (7g, 8a, 15p), David Krejci (4g, 10a, 14p), Patrice Bergeron (8g, 5a, 13p), and trade deadline pickup Charlie Coyle (6g, 6a, 12p). The Bruins top guys have been shut down in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but once they got heated up or found a way to break through the system the other teams utilized, there was nothing that could stop them.
Defense:
On defense the Bruins allowed 2.585 Goals Against per game, and are lead by their captain Zdeno Chara (1g, 2a, 3p) with a +11. Also the Bruins defense has been contributing offensively this postseason led by Torey Krug with 1 goal, and 11 assists for 12 points. Plus the Bruins have been getting contributions from their young defenders in Charlie McAvoy (1g, 6a, 7p +9), and Matt Grzelcyk (3g, 4a, 7p -2), and from their top forwards as well as both Bergeron and Coyle are +8 and +9 respectively.
Goaltending:
For the Bruins they have been getting solid goaltending from Tuukka Rask in all 17 games that they have played this postseason. Rask is 12-5 with a 1.84 GAA and a .942 Save Percentage. Rask has also recorded two shutouts this postseason.
Special Teams:
Powerplay – 50.7% (10th in Regular Season)
Penalty Kill – 79.9% (16th in Regular Season)
The Bruins are atop the league this postseason scoring on 34% of their powerplay opportunities. Also the Bruins are third during the postseason with a 86.3% on the penalty kill.
Final Thoughts:
It’s going to be interesting to see how the Bruins come out of the gate in Game 1 as they will have been off for 11 days at that point. While they have been doing scrimmages to stay fresh, it’s not the same as the real deal. Also there is the storyline now of the sweeps. Starting with the New York Islanders sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins, then getting swept by the Hurricanes, and then the Bruins sweeping Carolina. Does that mean St. Louis is going to sweep the Bruins? Probably not, but there’s still a chance for it to happen.
Prediction: Blues in 6
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