Blues dive into a dominant Game 4 win against Bruins

The St. Louis Blues regained control and beat the Bruins because they played better. That being said, all of Craig Berube’s whining certainly helped.

Boy was I wrong. When I wrote this semi-satirical post about the Blues whining to the officials, I assumed the officials would have a backbone and not respond to Craig Berube’s comments. The Bruins were outplayed in Game 4 and the Blues certainly deserved the win, but a few of the steps they took in getting there were borderline embarrassing.

Credit to the St. Louis Blues. Their plan worked. Whine about officiating in the post-game presser and the officials will swallow their whistles for the next game. Then, once the Bruins adjust and play accordingly, dive. Dive over and over again. Take a big ol’ page out of Esa Lindell’s book and dive like you’re competing in an Olympic diving event. It worked. The Blues won 4-2 and the series is tied at two games apiece.

Make no mistake, the Bruins were completely outplayed in this game. This is not a “salty Bruins fan complaining about the refs” post. Boston wasn’t going to win playing the way they did. The Blues were the more dominant team throughout the game and a few calls here or there wouldn’t have changed that. Brandon Carlo even scored a shorty that put the B’s back in the game during the second period. Still, it’s a bad look when plays like this get called for penalties:

Evan is right about being surprised that this was called a penalty but he’s wrong about the sell-job. It wasn’t a great sell job at all. It was terrible. This is some of the worst acting since Topher Grace played Venom in Spider-Man 3 (sick reference). This is an embarrassing look for Tarasenko and for the referees, who are probably shaking their heads and discussing how they are going to let everything go Boston’s way in Game 5.

As a Bruins fan, don’t be mad at the Blues, either. From the moment Game 3 ended, they executed this game plan and it worked. Perhaps if Boston had only beat them by two instead of crushing them by five in in Game 3, this one would have been more evenly called. It’s a trade-off for the Blues. They had to win this game otherwise the series was over so they sold the farm to get the dub. When officials see multiple dives like this, they are less likely to give out the same calls in the next game. Unlike the complete joke that is NBA officiating, everything balances out in the NHL. Here’s another one. Notice how Schwartz trips on ABSOLUTELY NOTHING:

If there is one thing Bruins fans should be upset about it’s that David Backes’ head is being treated like a speedbag. Apparently punching, checking, high sticking, elbowing and shouldering Backes is completely acceptable. It’s not like the guy has a noted history with concussions or anything. Backes has responded personally to each of the cheap shots by running over the assailants on the following play.

Game 5 is going to be played at a different pace. The Bruins will likely get a slight edge in officiating after this game tape is reviewed. Their main concern at the moment is the health of their two injured defensemen: Will Matt Grzelcyk be back in the line up and can Zdeno Chara play with his face split open? With these guys available, expect a dominant Boston win. If the Bruins are forced to stick with John Moore and add, perhaps, Steve Kampfer, then the game might be a little closer (no offense to these guys).

The Blues have been incredible when they can slow down the Bruins speed while also staying aggressive and physical in the offensive zone. They forechecked the hell out of the B’s in Game 4. If they can build on this in Game 5, it’s going to be tough for the Bruins.

One concern the Blues will have heading into Game 5 is the health of Jordan Binnington. Binnington took one of the move vicious slashes in Stanley Cup Final history during the second period of Game 4 when Brad Marchand unloaded on the Blues goaltender. Binnington is so brave and strong as he played through the pain for the rest of the game. Please pray for him, though, as his status is up in the air. Here is the disgusting play in its entirety:

Are you serious, Jordan? This is the guy who is supposed to be unshakable? This is your hero, St. Louis? I’ll take Tuukka Rask laughing in David Perron’s face over this clown any day.

The action returns to TD Garden in Boston on Thursday, June 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET.