It's been a wacky playoffs that has seem all sorts of parity throughout the NHL, but ultimately two of the best teams in the NHL are left standing competing for Lord Stanley in 2019. Both the Bruins and Blues have rode consistent goaltending through 3 rounds of the playoffs, and we got ourselves a rematch of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals with the Blues returning to the finals for the 1st time since that series. Here's a look at everything that's happened in the playoffs until this point, as well as a series preview/prediction. Enjoy!
1st Round Series Scores:
East:
WC #2 Columbus Blue Jackets defeat #1 Tampa Bay Lighting (4-0)
WC #1 Carolina Hurricanes defeat #1 Washington Capitals (4-3)
#2 Boston Bruins defeat #3 Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3)
#2 New York Islanders defeat #3 Pittsburgh Penguins (4-0)
West:
WC #2 Colorado Avalanche defeat #1 Calgary Flames (4-1)
WC #1 Dallas Stars defeat #1 Nashville Predators (4-2)
#3 St. Louis Blues defeat #2 Winnipeg Jets (4-2)
#2 San Jose Sharks defeat #3 Vegas Golden Knights (4-3)
2nd Round Series Scores:
East:
#2 Boston Bruins defeat WC #2 Columbus Blue Jackets (4-2)
WC #1 Carolina Hurricanes defeat #2 New York Islanders (4-0)
West:
#2 San Jose Sharks defeat WC #2 Colorado Avalanche (4-3)
#3 St. Louis Blues defeat WC #1 Dallas Stars (4-3)
#2 San Jose Sharks defeat WC #2 Colorado Avalanche (4-3)
#3 St. Louis Blues defeat WC #1 Dallas Stars (4-3)
3rd Round Series Scores:
East:
#2 Boston Bruisn defeat WC #1 Carolian Hurricanes (4-0)
West:
#3 St. Louis Blues defeat #2 San Jose Sharks (4-2)
Playoff Leading Scorers:
1. Logan Couture (SJS) - 20 GP: 14 Goals, 6 Assists, 20 Points
2. Brad Marchand (BOS) - 17 GP: 7 Goals, 11 Assists, 18 Points
3. Jaden Schwartz (STL) - 19 GP: 12 Goals, 4 Assists, 16 Points
4. Brent Burns (SJS) - 20 GP: 5 Goals, 11 Assists, 16 Points
5. Erik Karlsson (SJS) - 19 GP: 2 Goals, 14 Assists, 16 Points
6. Tomas Hertl (SJS) - 19 GP: 10 Goals, 5 Assists, 15 Points
7. David Pastrnak (BOS) - 17 GP: 7 Goals, 8 Assists, 15 Points
8. Timo Meier (SJS) - 20 GP: 5 Goals, 10 Assists, 15 Points
9. Mikko Rantanen (COL) - 12 GP: 6 Goals, 8 Assists, 14 Points
10. David Krejci (BOS) - 17 GP: 4 Goals, 10 Assists, 14 points
Forman Faceoff Conn Smythe Ranking:
1. Tuukka Rask - 17 GP: 12-5, 1.84 GAA, .942 Save %, 2 Shutouts
2. Jordan Binnington - 19 GP: 12-7, 2.36 GAA, .914 Save %, 1 Shutout
3. Jaden Schwartz - 19 GP: 12 Goals, 4 Assists, 16 Points
4. Brad Marchand - 17 GP: 7 Goals, 11 Assists, 18 Points
5. Alex Pietrangelo - 19 GP: 2 Goals, 11 Assists, 13 Points
6. Patrice Bergeron - 17 GP: 8 Goals, 5 Assists, 13 Points
7. Colton Parayko - 19 GP: 1 Goal, 10 Assists, 11 Points
8. David Pastrnak - 17 GP: 7 Goals, 8 Assists, 15 Points
9. Ryan O'Reilly - 19 GP: 3 Goals, 11 Assists, 14 Points
10. David Krejci - 17 GP: 4 Goals, 10 Assists, 14 points
#2 Boston Bruins vs #3 St. Louis Blues
January 17, 2019: Boston Bruins 5, St. Louis Blues 2
February 23, 2019: St. Louis Blues 2, Boston Bruins 1 (SO)
Players to Watch:
Boston: Tuukka Rask, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Charlie McAvoy, Zdeno Chara
St. Louis: Jordan Binnington, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O'Reilly, Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko
X-Factor:
Boston: Tuukka Rask
St. Louis: Jordan Binnington
Playoff Leaders:
Goals: Jaden Schwartz (STL) - 12, Patrice Bergeron (BOS) - 8
Assists: Torey Krug/Brad Marchand (BOS) - 11, Ryan O'Reilly/Colton Parayko (STL) - 11
Points: Brad Marchand (BOS) - 18, Jaden Schwartz (STL) - 16
Plus/Minus: Zdeno Chara (BOS) +11, Oskar Sundqvist (STL) +7
TOI/Per Game: Alex Pietrangelo (STL) - 25:33, Charlie McAvoy (BOS) - 24:20
OT Goals: Charlie Coyle (BOS) - 1, Pat Maroon (STL) - 1
Shots: Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) - 64, Patrice Bergeron (BOS) - 63
Faceoff %: Patrice Bergeron (BOS) - 59.3, Ivan Barbashev (STL) - 52.6
Penalty Minutes: Robert Bortuzzo (STL) - 18, Patrice Bergeron/Charlie McAvoy (BOS) - 12
Wins: Tuukka Rask (BOS) - 12, Jordan Binnington (STL) - 12
Shutouts: Tuukka Rask (BOS) - 2, Jordan Binnington (STL) - 1
Goals Against Average: Tuukka Rask (BOS) - 1.84, Jordan Binnington (STL) - 2.36
Save Percentage: Tuukka Rask (BOS) - .942, Jordan Binnington (STL) - .914
Prediction: What a story this is shaping up to be, the Blues return to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1970, and wouldn't you know it they are facing the same team in the Boston Bruins. The last time these teams met in the finals a young Bobby Orr flew through the air in a franchise-altering moment for Boston, and the Blues haven't been able to get back to the finals since then...until now. Both teams have been extremely impressive and similar en route to the finals, with each of them having been through a game 7 to get here and both having stellar goaltending in Tuukka Rask and Jordan Binnington. Will be interesting watching the coaching battle between Bruce Cassidy and Craig Berube in this series, both guys seem to have their team clicking at the right time and pulling the right strings to get here. While I think this series is dead even and can go either way, I'm rooting for the Blues to win their 1st Stanley Cup in franchise history.
(BLUES IN 6)
CONN SMYTHE: JORDAN BINNINGTON
With much being mentioned about the fact that the Bruins and Blues are facing off in a rematch of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals, here's some bonus pictures/video from the two teams during that era.
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| The most famous picture in NHL history, Bobby Orr becomes a hero in Boston for life |
A look at the famous Bobby Orr goal
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| Despite allowing the most famous goal in NHL history, HHOF goaltender Glenn Hall's NHL-record 502 consecutive starts is one of the most impressive records ever and will never be broken. Fun fact: Hall used to vomit before every single start...meaning he threw-up 502 times during that streak... |
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| The legendary Phil Esposito with Lord Stanley. A year after winning the Stanley Cup, Espo would go on to shatter the NHL goal record, putting up 76 goals in 1970/71 (previous record was 58 by Bobby Hull). The HHOFer was one of the most dominant players in NHL history and maybe the best player of the 1970s (Orr/Lafleur). |
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HHOF player/coach Al Albour, the first Captain in Blues franchise history, rocking some sweet shades
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| Everyone remembers Bobby Orr scoring on Glenn Hall in this iconic moment, but the forgotten guy is Blues defenseman Noel Picard who's the one who sent Bobby flying... |
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Might not be a more interesting character in all of sports during the 1970s than Derek Sanderson, who's crazy life on and off the ice was that of what movies are made of. For those that have never read his book "Crossing The Line" I highly, highly recommend it. One snippet from that book: when he signed with the Philadelphia Blazers of the WHA in 1972, his $2.65 million contract made him the highest paid athlete on the planet. He lasted 8 games in the WHA... A young Scotty Bowman looks on during a Blues practice. Bowman, the first coach in Blues history, would take them to the Stanley Cup finals in each of the first 3 seasons in their existence. Despite losing all 3, Bowman would go on to win a whopping 14 Stanley Cups as Coach/Executive to date, the 2nd highest total in NHL history (Jean Beliveau 17, 10 as a player 7 as an executive) and most for a non-player. |
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| Bruins Stanley Cup team picture after sweeping the Blues in 4 games. Interesting to note the Bruins didn't have a Captain at the time, in fact they didn't during the 1972 Stanley Cup win either. |
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| Forward Ab McDonald would lead the Blues in scoring during the 1970 Stanley Cup Playoffs, putting up 5 goals and 15 points in 16 games. He was one of several NHLers to depart to the WHA (Winnipeg Jets) in 1972. |
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| HHOFer Gerry Cheevers back-stopped the Bruins to 2 Stanley Cups in 3 years before departing for the Cleveland Crusaders in the WHA in 1972, where he signed a massive (at the time) 7-year, $1.2 million deal. His famous goalie mask had the "scars" painted on of all the times he took shots off his mask
A series recap of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals
For those that have been following the Forman Faceoff throughout the season/playoffs, I want to say thank you for reading. This is going to be a great Stanley Cup Finals and it's been fun writing on these wacky 2019 playoffs.
Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff |
