By Tommy Kane
Published: May 22nd, 2019
Volume III: Issue XVI
After months of contention, we are now down to the final two teams. The Boston Bruins will be taking on the St. Louis Blues in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
The Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, and most notably, swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Blues beat the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, and recently, the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals.
Let’s take a look at each team before game one (on May 27, 2019).
Boston Bruins: Two-way, Goaltending, Toughness, and Antics
The Boston Bruins, a two seed, are a difficult team that empowers multiple facets to their game that I will cover. The grittiness and toughness of the team push them ahead and is one of the reasons why they are where they are. Throughout the season, this team has looked strong; no surprise they are here.
The offense is hot. The top-line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak have been talked about before. Marchand has 18 points, leading the B’s. Bergeron leads with eight goals, along with Marchand and Pastrnak earning seven.
Boston also exhibits great depth to their lineup, as well as having a top plus/minus player in Zdeno Chara, the 42-year-old captain. David Krejci, David Backes, Charlie McAvoy, and many others make up the strength of the rest of the team.
The powerplay has been deadly, just ask the Carolina Hurricanes. Throughout the playoffs, the Bruins have a 34% powerplay, one of the tops in the NHL. They can make plays and enter the neutral zone fast, only to strike with their keen lateral passing. Bruins also have a penalty kill percentage of 86.3%, showing that they can play the two-way game.
Down to the business now. Conn Smyth candidate, Tuukka Rask (G), has been lights out for the Bruins, especially in the ECF. A save percentage of .942 and a GAA of 1.84 is not something most teams want to face. Rask also has two shutouts to his name, both coming in closing games (clenching series matches). It should be interesting to see how the prolonged break effects him since the Bruins swept the Canes in the ECF and have to wait for a while.
Finally, Boston has shown toughness throughout the duration of the playoffs, causing opponents to become flustered and make mistakes. Marchand is known for his antics, but it is a positive for the Bruins. He provokes players and causes them to commit minor penalties, which get the powerful Bruins powerplay in motion.
Overall, the Bruins are far from a weak team. The way they play the game is tremendous, to say the least. Anything less than a Stanley Cup will be unacceptable to them.
St. Louis Blues: Tenacity, Depth, and Goaltending
The St. Louis Blues have defied odds and made it to the final challenge: a 1970 rematch against the Boston Bruins. If you told me that the Blues would be making it to the Finals in January, I would have thought it was a joke.
Jaden Schwartz leads the team with 12 goals, and also leads with 16 points. He has been a surprisingly vital asset heading down the stretch. Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, Vladimir Tarasenko, and captain Alex Pietrangelo have also been points leaders.
Robert Thomas and Patrick Maroon have been helpful as well. Thomas is a rookie that is breaking out fine in the NHL, and Maroon is a hometown hero that scored the series-clincher against the Stars. They just show how much depth St. Louis has on their lines. It was an issue that the Sharks faced when they lost the series.
Goaltending has turned the Blues season around and it is evident in the 2019 Playoffs as well. Rookie goalie, Jordan Binnington (G), will set the record for most playoff wins by a rookie netminder if he wins the Cup and is net for all the games they win. No rookie goalie has ever gotten all 16 wins, only 15 (Matt Murray and Cam Ward).
Looking at his 2019 Playoff stats, Binnington has a save percentage of .914 and a GAA of 2.36, with a shutout. He has been playing sound hockey in the last three games against the Sharks, where the Blues won all three to get to the Cup Final.
Blues are a middle-of-the-pack special teams team. It varies from time to time, but it is nothing spectacular like the Bruins powerplay. This is where the team could improve. A 19.4% powerplay and a 78.0% penalty kill could always get better.
These guys have a ton of fight to their game and they will make an interesting Cup Final. Expect the Blues to be a force to be reckoned with. The city has never held up the Stanley Cup and they are the oldest franchise to not win one.
A 1970 Rematch
Image Disclaimer: All games will be on National NBC and it’s affiliates.
This series will be an exciting one for sure, but there will only be one winner. St. Louis will put up a fight, but I think Boston will ultimately take this series in six games. The way Boston is playing is unmatchable and although the Blues look good, they aren’t playing at the same level as the Bruins.
Binnington versus Rask will be a great series. Binnington will learn a lot from it, and he will only get better and have a long career in the NHL.
A team with a great powerplay gives themselves an advantage. Special teams help push teams above others and help win championships.
Happy Hockey!
The All-American Eagle 