Stanley Cup Playoffs: Boston Bruins vs. St. Louis Blues series preview

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are nearly over. The Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues will play for the Stanley Cup starting on Monday. Who has the upper hand?

This is one of the last Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup anyone could have ever envisioned. Especially when you consider the fact that the St. Louis Blues were in last place in the Central Division in early January. But after Craig Berube was named interim head coach, the Blues rebounded and have been the second-best team in the NHL since that point. Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins are in the Stanley Cup final for the third time in eight years.

The Blues made the Stanley Cup Final in each of the first three seasons of their existence and lost all of them between 1968 and 1970. They have not made the finals since 1970, so it’s been nearly 50 years since they’ve last made an appearance. Also, they got swept each year, so the Blues next win in the Stanley Cup Final will be their first.

The Season Series

The teams split the season series at one game apiece. The Bruins won 5-2 on January 17th and the Blues won in a shootout on February 23rd.

4 Keys for Boston

1. Convert On the Power Play

The Bruins are one of the best teams on the power play but drawing power plays will be a challenge against the stingy Blues. So, when the Bruins get the power play chances, they have to convert on the opportunities that they do get.

2. Can Tuukka Rask Keep Up His Dominance

The Bruins need goaltender Tuukka Rask to be as strong as he has been all playoffs long. But the question is, can he continue to lead them to the promised land? Rask has been and continues to be the key to the Bruins success if they are to win the Stanley Cup. Can he finish what he started in the first three rounds?

3. Use Your Depth

When I assess these teams, I believe that the Bruins have the deeper team. So, it is imperative that the Bruins take advantage of the depth that they have. Because the Blues may have the deeper of the two defenses, so the Bruins need their depth up front to come through.

4. Play Physical Against the Blues’ Top Scorers

The Bruins would do themselves a solace if they can play the body on the Blues’ best players. They need to try to slow down Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko somehow, so playing the body is the best way to do it.

4 Keys for St. Louis

1. Stay Out of The Penalty Box

As I mentioned above, the Bruins have one of the best power plays in the league, so the Blues need to continue to stay out of the penalty box. They do not want to mess with the Boston power play. The Bruins will make you pay if you put them on the ice.

2. ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK!!!

The Blues need to attack the Bruins. Boston hasn’t played for a week and a half so it is important to jump on them early and take the series lead 1-0, if the Blues’ can’t they may be in big trouble. Especially since the Bruins will only become stronger as the series progresses. So in my mind winning game one is critical to the Blues’ chances of winning the series.

3. Stay Resilient

The Blues have had to deal with some challenges in the postseason. And they have done an admirable job overcoming obstacles in the way. And they may have to continue to do so if they cannot win the first game against the Bruins. But being battle tested could give the Blues a leg up on the Bruins in this case. They did overcome an awful call in the last series and won three games in a row. Mighty impressive I must say.

4. Can Binnington Stay Sharp?

Like Rask, Jordan Binnington has had a long layover (not nearly as long but still pretty long for the Stanley Cup Playoffs) so he may not be as sharp as he was last round. The Bruins would be wise to test the young netminder early on to see if he is as sharp as he could be. He has been a rock solid performer for the Blues so they have better hope he can be as sharp as they need him to be.

Related Story. 3 Reasons Blues Can Beat The Bruins. light

Prediction

Boston in Six Games.

The Bruins have more skill 1 through 20 in their lineup, and I feel like that depth is going to benefit the Bruins in a big way. The Bruins will pierce through the St. Louis defense on occasion and most likely put the put in the net on the chances that they do get.

For the Blues, the road to a Stanley Cup win revolves around two key points. Jordan Binnington has to be rock solid as he has been since January. And you need to be disciplined. You do not want to put the Bruins on the power play, they have one of the best power plays in the NHL despite not being full of flashy moves. They aren’t considered one of the better offenses in the NHL but their power play is filthy.

Goaltending is clearly the key to any series, but in this series, it is even more so because both Rask and Binnington have been such great assets to their teams to this point in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If either goalie has an off game in this series, he could very well cost his team the series. That is how close this series is.

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I give the Bruins the edge for experience and depth but make no mistake, the Blues have the talent to take this series. But I don’t think they have quite enough talent to overtake the Bruins, and I think the Bruins offensive depth and power play end up propelling them over the Blues for the 2019 Stanley Cup.

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