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Tag: Stanley Cup Finals

  • Stanley Cup Finals Preview – The Boston Bruins

    Stanley Cup Finals Preview – The Boston Bruins

    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

     

    Thank you for following TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

     

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  • ECF Game 4 – Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    ECF Game 4 – Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Boston Bruins v. Carolina Hurricanes

    Game 4 – BOS Leads 3-0

     

    Game Recap:

    Heading into Game 4 with the potential to clinch the series in Carolina, the Boston Bruins will have to do it without their captain and veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara who is listed as “day to day”.

    In the first period both teams would trade chances, and both teams would get at least one powerplay opportunity each, but neither would capitalize on their opportunities.

     

    Going into the second period the Carolina Hurricanes would shoot themselves in the foot when they would take a too many men on the ice penalty, and the Bruins would take advantage as David Pastrnak would get the puck past Curtis McElhinney to make it 1-0 less than five minutes into the period. Then much later in the second period, Carolina would get themselves into penalty trouble again as Patrice Bergeron would score from the slot area as McElhinney did not have a chance on the shot.

     

    Going into the third period it would be do or die for the Hurricanes, and despite their best efforts a turnover in their own zone midway through the period would push the game more out of reach as David Pastrnak would exhibit great patience to feed Patrice Bergeron for his second goal of the game to make it 3-0.

     

    Lineups:

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari

    Matt Grzelcyk — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    John Moore — Connor Clifton

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Karson Kuhlman

    Injured: Chris Wagner (right arm), Kevan Miller (lower body), Zdeno Chara (day to day)

     

    Carolina Hurricanes:

    Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen

    Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Justin Williams

    Warren Foegele – Lucas Wallmark — Brock McGinn

    Micheal Ferland — Greg McKegg — Saku Maenalanen

    Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton

    Brett Pesce — Justin Faulk

    Haydn Fleury — Calvin de Haan

    Curtis McElhinney

    Petr Mrazek

    Scratched: Jake Bean, Patrick Brown

    Injured: Jordan Martinook (lower body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (left shoulder)

     

    First Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 1:18 – Matt Grzelcyk 2 minutes fot Tripping

    Hurricanes Penalty – 10:35 – Nino Niederreiter 2 minutes for Slashing

    Bruins Penalty – 12:19 – Charlie Coyle 2 minutes for Interference

     

    End of 1st – BOS – 0       CAR – 0

    Shots              10                13

    Faceoffs         12                10

    Hits               08                  07

    PP                 0/1                 0/2

     

    Second Period:

    Hurricanes Penalty – 4:26 – Bench (Justin Williams) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Bruins PPG – 4:46 – David Pastrnak (7) from Brad Marchand (11) and Torey Krug (11)

    Hurricanes Penalty – 18:10 – Greg McKegg 2 minutes for Goalie Interference

    Bruins PPG – 18:34 – Patrice Bergeron (7) from David Pastrnak (7)

     

    End of 2nd – BOS – 2        CAR – 0

    Shots               18                 18

    Faceoffs          25                 23

    Hits                 15                  19

    PP                   2/3                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Bruins Goal – 10:32 – Patrice Bergeron (8) from David Pastrnak (8)

    Bruins ENG – 17:43 – Brad Marchand (7) from Patrice Bergeron (5) and David Krejci (10)

     

    End of 3rd – BOS – 4         CAR – 0

    Shots              23                   24

    Faceoffs        35                    31

    Hits               17                     33

    PP                 2/3                    0/2

     

    Next Up:

    Stanley Cup Finals – Boston v. STL/SJ

     

    Make sure to follow TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.