The St. Louis Blues will take on the Boston Bruins in Boston for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Memorial Day at 8 pm Eastern time.
The Bruins reached the Finals by beating the Maple Leafs, the Blue Jackets, and the Hurricanes. The Blues were able to battle through the West, defeating the Jets, the Stars, and the Sharks.
The Bruins open the series as favorites at home and to win the series. Boston has opened every series in the playoffs at home. So far, they are 2-1 in each Game 1.
Bruins preview
The Boston Bruins have had success in the playoffs in a very different way than they did in the regular season. During the season it was all about their dominant top line. Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak were possibly the best line in hockey, while the lower lines were moved around regularly because they were not producing. Also, goaltender Tuukka Rask was pretty shaky at the start of the year.
The playoffs have been the complete opposite. While the top line has slowed down at times, Tuukka Rask has been the top performing goalie in the playoffs, and the Bruins’ lower lines have played phenomenal in key moments on both ends of the ice, including game-winning goals.
The biggest thing for Boston to focus on is this. So far, every team in the playoffs to sweep another team has lost the next series. The Bruins swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, and that has led to a lot of time off, 11 days to be exact. It will be something to watch out for in the first game, to see how they handled the time off. If the Bruins come out rusty, making mental mistakes, it could decide the momentum of the series very fast.
Blues Preview
By this point, everyone has heard the story of the Blues having the worst record in the NHL on January 2 and now will be playing for the Stanley Cup against the Bruins. While it is an amazing story, the Blues want to put their own ending on it. The key to their success is their goaltender Jordan Binnington. The rookie has made the Blues almost impossible to put away in the playoffs. His stats, specifically in elimination games, have been absolutely outstanding and will be extremely difficult for Boston to overcome.
Although the Blues have never won a Stanley Cup, they do have veterans on their team including Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, and David Perron who are leading the way and know what this moment means to the franchise.
The Blues have had to overcome a lot to get to the Finals. After facing the Jets in the first round of the playoffs as the underdog and beating them in Game 6, they had to take on the Dallas Stars. The Stars series went all the way to Game 7 and then to double overtime, where the Blues claimed victory 2-1. After that was the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks series ended in Game 6 with the Blues defeating them 5-1 and claiming their third straight win to go into the Stanley Cup Finals.
What to expect
The Bruins are on a seven-game winning streak, and the Blues have won their last three. These are two very hot teams that are hitting their stride at exactly the right time. Look for the Blues to come out fast to catch the Bruins off guard due to their long downtime. Look for the Bruins to stick to their game and follow their veteran leadership. If the playoffs have taught us anything this year, it is that these two teams should produce another exciting series to finish the season off.
I will take Boston winning at home in Game 1 and the under due to the high-quality goaltenders in this series.
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