With the Stanley Cup Final tied at two games against the St. Louis Blues, the Boston Bruins take the series back to Boston for Game 5. No team has won or lost consecutive games in the final so far and the Bruins wants to give their home crowd a victory to cheer for.
The Stanley Cup Final may be tied, but after a Game 4 loss to the St. Louis Blues, the Boston Bruins seem pretty close to having their backs against the wall. While the series shifting back home to TD Garden is a welcome change for the Bruins, it really is a must-win game for them.
The Blues want nothing more than to steal Game 5 on the road and raise the Stanley Cup at home after game six as “Gloria” blasts full volume in the background. St. Louis has been strong on the road this postseason, so the Bruins need to watch out for that.
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Boston’s first loss in this cup final was an overtime loss in Game 2. Although the Blues dominated in overtime before Carl Gunnarsson scored, that game was more of an even matchup than GAme 4.
The Bruins were stunned to see roles reversed as St. Louis overpowered them with a physical game which Boston wasn’t entirely ready for. In order to make their home crowd happy with a game five victory, there are some steps the Bruins are going to have to take.
Get Over The Loss Of Zdeno Chara
Longtime Bruins captain Zdeno Chara left Game 4 with an injury after taking a puck to the mouth off a Brayden Schenn shot. Chara’s availability for Game 5 was immediately in question, but amidst reports that he suffered a broken jaw, the possibility of his return at all during this Stanley Cup final seems especially bleak.
It was also announced Wednesday morning that 20-year-old rookie defenseman Urho Vaakanainen would be Chara’s replacement. Never heard of him? You’re not the only one.
Vaakanainen has huge shoes to fill, and that’s not just because Chara’s a large human being. The Bruins captain might not be the dominant defenseman he was during the Bruins’ 2011 and 2013 cup runs, but the 42-year-old has posted over 24 minutes of ice time in the two games this series where he was healthy.
While the Bruins may be able to survive on the ice without him, losing their captain is going to be a huge blow to their moral. Chara is extremely dedicated to his team, even so much as returning to the bench in game four injured just to cheer them on. Expect spirits to be low when the lineup card doesn’t have Zdeno Chara’s name on it.