Stanley Cup Game 2 Recap
Vladimir Tarasenko
Photo Credit: Adam Glanzman
Congratulations to the St. Louis Blue for winning their first game ever in the Stanley Cup final. That now brings their record to a solid 1-13, granted I’ll give it to them that they got swept by some loaded Canadiens teams in the late 60s and a 1970 Bruins team led by the great Bobby Orr, so this is actually the first time they have a somewhat legitimate shot in the cup finals.
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The game itself started out great for the Bruins going up 1-0 inside 5 minutes thanks to a power play goal from 3rd line center Charlie Coyle. The Blues responded minutes later thanks to a redirect off a Bruins defenseman, Matt Grzelcyk’s skate. The game was tied 1-1 for all of about 40 secs as the 4th line of the Bruins stepped up to the plate again. This time it was Joakim Nordstrom getting the goal and putting the Bruins back in top. But just like the first goal, this Bruins lead wouldn’t last long either. Vladimir Tarasenko striked for the 10th time this postseason. The Blues charged up the ice with a 2 on 1 and Schwartz fired a shot which Tuukka was unable to hang onto and Tarasenko was there for the rebound and needed two chances to finish. In all honesty, the Bruins dominated the first period and a 2-2 scoreline was very unfortunate. While Tarasenko’s backhand required a ton of skill, those two goals were very fluky. Despite 4 goals in the first 15 mins of the game, the next 45 mins of regulation would go scoreless. Then roughly 4 mins into overtime, Carl Gunnarsson scored with a slap shot from the blue line, a shot that Tuukka probably should have stopped. Just like that the series is tied 1-1.
I’ll give it to the Blues, after the 1st period they were the better team in the game. They outshot Boston and were far more physical. Of course this physicality led to more penalties and this is really where Boston missed out. St. Louis had 5 penalties to Boston’s 2. Tuukka wasn’t his best tonight but still did enough where he should have got the win. In the end, the biggest story line so far has to be the Blues shutting down the Bergeron, Pastrnak and Marchand line so far in the first two games. Arguably the best line in all of hockey has been nonexistent in the first two games, which is also a reason I’m confident. The Bruins have this series 1-1 on the backs of Tuukka and our 4th line. If our top line can heat up slightly then it’s a wrap. So yeah I’m going to go ahead and say there is no chance the Blues can keep the Bruin’s top line in check the rest of this series, so enjoy this win because the Bruins win in 6. Game 3 is Saturday night at 8 o’clock.
Thanny