St. Louis Blues outlast Bruins in Game 5, one win away from first Stanley Cup

The St. Louis Blues survived Game 5 on the road against the Boston Bruins, and are one win away from the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

It’s been a back and forth series through the first four games of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, and Game 5 headed back to Boston with the series tied at two wins a piece. Who would put themselves in position to take the lead in the series and have the chance to clinch the Stanley Cup in Game 6?

In the end, it was the St. Louis Blues who prevailed in Game 5 by a score of 2-1, surviving a late flurry by the Boston Bruins to take a 3-2 series lead and move one win away from the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

The first period of the game featured no scoring for the first time this series, but it was not for lack of trying. The Bruins outshot the Blues 17-8 in the period, but both Tuukka Rask and Jordan Binnington stood on their heads to keep the game scoreless.

Jordan Binnington stopped a perfect 17 for 17 shots against, but Tuukka Rask had the best save of the period on a shot from David Perron.

Early in the second period however, it was Ryan O’Reilly who continued his roll from Game 4, finishing off a beautiful between the legs behind the back pass from Zach Sanford to open the scoring in favor of the Blues.

Blues fans back at the packed Enterprise Center for the team watch party were plenty happy to see their team draw first blood in the game.

The 1-0 score would hold for the rest of the second period, but if not for David Krejci making a desperation save on a wide open net for Alex Pietrangelo in the dying seconds of the period, the Blues would’ve taken a 2-0 lead to the locker room.

In a play that will surely be discussed for quite awhile, Tyler Bozak tripped up Noel Acciari from behind and sent him to the ice in pain. There was no call on the play, and David Perron scored just seconds later, sneaking the puck through the pads of Rask and giving the Blues a 2-0 lead.

Cam Neely, President of the Boston Bruins, was quite displeased with the non call, smashing his water bottle against the wall.

Regardless, the Bruins would eventually break through and get on the board, with Jake Debrusk scoring his first goal in seven games to get the home crowd back in it and set up a nail-biting finish.

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The final six minutes of regulation did not disappoint, and the Bruins were on the attack almost the entire time. The Blues were in survival mode, with the Bruins coming mere inches away from beating Binnington and tying the game, but nevertheless, the Blues would hang on to win.

The Bruins outshot the Blues 39-21 in the game, and had the Blues on the ropes numerous times, but Binnington put forth what undeniably the best game of his career with 38 saves, solidifying his possible case for the Conn Smythe if the Blues can finish off the series.

With the win in Game 5, the Blues are now just one win away from the first Stanley Cup in franchise history, and can finish the job on home ice in Game 6. The winner of Game 5 in a 2-2 Stanley Cup Final series lifts the Cup 73% of the time, so the Blues have to feel good about their odds now. St. Louis is 3-0 so far this postseason in series clinching games, and can be the first team since the 2015 Chicago Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup on home ice.

For the Bruins on the other hand, they can stay upset at the no call all they want, but the same problems that have been prevalent all series were not fixed tonight. The top line was once again blanked on the score sheet, and their heralded power play dried up for the second straight game. If Zdeno Chara gutting through a broken jaw to play wasn’t enough to push the Bruins to another level, they need to rally around their season being on the line in Game 6 in order to send this series back home to Boston for a Game 7.

Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final will take place on Sunday, June 9 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The Blues will look to clinch the first Stanley Cup in franchise history, while the Bruins will look to force the first Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final since 2011.