After what has felt like six months between rounds, the Bruins and Blues will finally kick off the Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden Monday night.
The Bruins are in search of their second Stanley Cup in nine seasons, while the Blues hope to bring the Stanley Cup back to St. Louis for the first time in franchise history.
Here are three keys to a series victory for the Bruins.
Shake off the rust
Rest is never a bad thing this late in the season. With the physicality turned up in the playoffs, and many playing at less than 100%, rest is usually welcomed. But sometimes too much rest can be a problem. Facing an 11-day layoff, the Bruins are going to come out of the gate with some rust in Game 1, how much rust, and how much of a factor it will be remains to be seen.
“We’ve mixed in rest versus work. Yesterday, our practice was scruffy, not going to lie to you. I thought the day before was excellent, so which one are we going to – as a coach, which one do you take? I trust the leadership group that they’ll have our guys ready,… head coach Bruce Cassidy said Monday morning.
“We’ve put in a plan this week we feel will allow us to have success in the first game. Until we get out there, who knows? So, tough question to answer in that regard. I feel we’re ready, but until the puck drops, don’t know.…
When it comes to rest vs. rust, history favors the Blues here.
Win the special teams battle
The Bruins power play has been their bread and butter this season, and they’ll need that to continue in the Stanley Cup Final. Unlike the Bruins cup team in 2011 that finished with the worst ranked power play among Stanley Cup Champions, the Bruins do actually benefit from their power play this time around.
The Bruins enter the Stanley Cup Final converting on a playoff best 34% of their power plays.
On the other end of special teams, the Bruins penalty kill has been much better of late, killing 24 of their last 25 penalties. Overall, they enter the Stanley Cup Final with a 86.3% penalty kill percentage.
You have to think special teams will be up there on the Blues’ list of areas of focus. Their power play ranks 9th, converting on 19.4% of their man advantages, and their penalty kill ranks 11th, killing 78% of penalties taken.
The key to the special teams battle for both teams may come down to which goalie is better in net, and from what the first three rounds have taught us, that advantage should go to the Bruins.
Tuukka Rask enters the Stanley Cup Final with a penalty kill save percentage of .924, while Jordan Binnington enters with a .833 penalty kill save percentage.
Patrice Bergeron vs. Ryan O’Reilly
Being the hockey nerd I am, this is the matchup I am most excited for. Between John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Jordan Staal and Matt Duchene, Bergeron and the Bruins have seen some talented centers in the playoffs, but I think O’Reilly is going to present Bergeron with the biggest challenge yet.
Lost in the shuffle of the Bruins run to the Stanley Cup Final has been the offensive struggles of Bergeron five-on-five. After 14 goals five-on-five during the regular season, Bergeron has just one in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Matching up against O’Reilly won’t make scoring five-on-five any easier for Bergeron.
To me, O’Reilly is one of the games most underrated two-way forwards.
Of course, Bergeron has more than enough made up for his lack of five-on-five offensive production with his play in his own zone, only being on the ice for four five-on-five goals against in the playoffs.
As Conor Ryan of the Boston Sports Journal points out, in 15:30 of five-on-five ice time Bergeron saw against the Sebastian Aho line during the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hurricanes had just two shot attempts and not a single shot on goal.
With Bergeron and O’Reilly, the series will feature two of the three finalists for the Frank J. Selke award which is given annually to the NHL’s top defensive forward. O’ Reilly led the Blues in scoring during the regular season with 77 points.
If the Bruins are to find success in the Stanley Cup Final, Bergeron will need to get the better of O’Reilly at even strength.
Prediction: Cue up those duck boats once again Boston. Bruins in six in a series that will feature a 2OT game.
NHL Champions for Charity Playoff Edition
In what has started to become a Hockeybuzz tradition, Blues Hockeybuzz writer Jason Millen and I have placed a wager on the series. If the Blues win, I will make a donation to the Gateway Area Multiple Sclerosis Society (@mssociety on twitter) whose mission is help each person affected by MS in St. Louis address the challenges of living with MS. They help by raising funds for cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education and providing programs and services that empower people with MS and their families to move their lives forward. Jason picked this charity to honor Blues anthem singer, Charles Glenn.
If the Bruins win, Jason will donate to the JDRF (@JDRF on twitter) whose mission is improve lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. A charity I selected as my younger sister has been living with Type 1 Diabetes since the age of five.
Either way a great cause gets a great donation!