Boston Bruins dominate Game 3 in St. Louis, take control of Stanley Cup Final

The Boston Bruins put on a clinic in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, crushing the St. Louis Blues 7-2 on the road and taking a 2-1 lead in the series.

After a back and forth first two games of the series, Game 3 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final had a lot to live up to in order to match the excitement of games one and two. Depending on which team you rooted for, Game 3 was either a blast or a disaster considering the result.

The Boston Bruins thrashed the St. Louis Blues by a score of 7-2 in St. Louis, chasing Jordan Binnington from the net for the first time in his career, and taking control of the Stanley Cup Final with a 2-1 series lead.

Patrice Bergeron started the show, recording his ninth goal of the postseason and his seventh powerplay goal.

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Charlie Coyle converted on a beautiful feed from Marcus Johansson later in the first period, recording his eight goal of the postseason.

Sean Kuraly let Blues fans know that they were in for a long night, beating Binnington with a laser shot, extending the Bruins lead to three goals. The goal would hold up as the game winning goal, Kuraly’s second of the series.

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David Pastrnak scored what felt like the dagger early in the second period, roofing a backhand over Binnington and making it 4-0 Bruins.

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Ivan Barbashev got the Blues on the board with a fortunate bounce off of multiple Bruins in front of the net, recording the first Blues goal at home in the Stanley Cup Final since 1970.

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However, Torrey Krug killed any kind of momentum the Blues could have salvaged from that goal a short time later, scoring the Bruins third power play goal on their third power play shot of the game, and extending their lead back to four goals. Binnington’s night would end there, and Jake Allen would take over for the rest of the night.

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The Blues were finally able to convert a power play goal for their first of the series, with Colton Parayko recording his second goal of the postseason, cutting the lead to 5-2.

Noel Acciari potted the empty net goal late in the third period, putting the already over game completely out of reach.

If that wasn’t enough already, Johansson recorded yet another power play goal for the Bruins just a few seconds, his fourth goal of the postseason and the seventh Bruins goal of the night for some serious salt in the wound.

The Blues outshot the Bruins 29-24 throughout the game, but the Bruins converted on all four of their power plays in the game, pushing their power play efficiency in the series to 42% (6 for 14).

Torey Krug became the first Bruins player in franchise history to record four points in a Stanley Cup Final game, while Patrice Bergeron found his groove and recorded had three points on the power play.

The Bruins victory over the Blues by five goals in Game 3 was the biggest margin in a Stanley Cup Final game since Game 5 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, when the Pittsburgh Penguins dominated the Nashville Predators 6-0.

The Bruins are now a mere two wins away from the Stanley Cup, and they have been firing on all cylinders for over a month aside their one slip up in Game 2 of the series. If they can keep playing they way they have since Game 3 of the second round, this series could very well be over by the end of Game 5.

Game 3 was a day that the city of St. Louis had been waiting for for a long time, as it was their first home game in the Stanley Cup Final since 1970. With the series tied at 1-1 after an overtime win in Game 2 of the series, they hoped to take a lead in the Finals for the first time in franchise history, but that was obviously short lived.

The Blues have faced a lot of adversity this postseason, overcoming multiple series deficits against the Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks, not to mention their response in Game 2 to even the series. For whatever reason, the Blues couldn’t do anything in Game 3, and they have to get it together in Game 4 to have a chance in this series.

Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final will take place on Monday, June 3 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The Bruins will look to take a 3-1 stranglehold in the series in order to get the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup on home ice, while the Blues will look to bounce back and even the series before going back on the road to Boston.