& # 39; We did it! & # 39; Blues organize their first Stanley Cup | Morning skating

Ryan O & # 39; Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo scored in the first half for the Blues and Brayden Schenn added a goal in insurance with 8:35 to qualify for third. Zach Sanford, who grew up in the area and went to Boston College, scored with a score of 4:38 to be able to play further in the bag.

O'Reilly, acquired during an exchange with Buffalo on July 1 and the team's most reliable player during the season, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs .

"You've been dreaming of this for so long," said O & # 39; Reilly, who broke a rib in the Dallas series. "As a child, this feeling reminds you of what it means to win this thing, I still can not believe it, I can not believe I'm here now and I'm a champion of the world." Stanley Cup with this group of guys. "

Jordan Binnington stopped the first 32 shots he faced, including 12 in the first period when Boston heavily attacked him and could have scored more than once, before Matt Grzelcyk scored with 2:10 to play . In the third period, the Blues protecting a 2-0 lead, he extended his right pad to stop a shot from Joakim Nordstrom who seemed to have to score 2-1.

"I think Binner really set the tone for us early," said center, Tyler Bozak. "They were very tough, they had a lot of good chances to score, and he closed the door, made some incredible stops and gave us the confidence that he was called, as he did." has been all year round, the simple fact of reaching that first goal has been a kind of relief and we built from there, we played our style on the road. the work is done. "

In the final horn, the Blues spilled onto the ice, heading to Binnington for goals and engulfing him in a sea of ​​blue and white. The equipment and equipment threw ice on the ice while the team rejoiced with joy. That's Binnington who led the handshake line after the match, starting with an extended conversation with Bruins captain Zdeno Chara.

"We did it," said striker Pat Maroon, the product from Oakville who has come home to sign with the Blues this season. "We did it – I mean, there is nothing else – I mean, we have all come into play from January 3 and we deserve it and what means of To finish it off, on the road, where we play well, and all these people, all these media have doubted us all year long and we have jostled them.I mean, it's incredible.Who would not like not to be from St. Louis, to sign in St. Louis and win the Stanley Cup and bring it home and be with my family and friends, I can not wait for the next few days. something that I will never forget, me and my son are going to wear this on our grave and we will have memories for life. "

"It does not seem real," said Schenn. "It's absolutely amazing, I can not even explain, it's like a video game we're in. That's what you dream of when you were a kid: to pose with the Stanley Cup and lift it up." is a special group and fun to be part of .We are going to party loudly. "

After Commissioner Gary Bettman presented the cup to Pietrangelo, the captain, he entrusted it to Jay Bouwmeester, who played 1,184 games in 16 seasons and finally won the title of Holy Grail. Bouwmeester then confided to Alexander Steen, who played 963 games, then to Chris Thorburn, another veteran, who has played only one minute and 52 seconds this season.

After failing their first chance to win the Sunday Cup at home, the Blues went where they did best for a good part of the season, the road. The Blues finished the playoffs with a 10-3 record on the road, equaling the NHL record for the most playoff wins. In the final, they won three of four games played at TD Garden.

Never brilliant, generally good, always cursed, the Blues are the first team of the era of expansion (since 1967-1968) to be ranked last in the standings after the 30th game of the season and to win the Stanley Cup.

With a large crowd in St. Louis, both at the Enterprise Center and at Busch Stadium, the years of suffering of the franchise have finally been rewarded. At the sound of the final horn, the rhapsody was in blue.

"It's crazy to win a Cup in a city for the first time," said striker Jaden Schwartz. "Hard to say, these fans have been waiting a long time, it's exciting, we're going to have a lot of fun with that."

The Blues, who have had the honor of playing the most games in the history of the NHL without winning the Stanley Cup, can now boast of having waited for the longer – 51 seasons – for one team to win its first championship. Previously, the title went to the expansion team, the Los Angeles Kings, who had won in their 44th season 2011-12. (The coat for most untitled games now goes to Vancouver and Buffalo.)

O 'Reilly started the Blues and then Pietrangelo added a goal in the final seconds of the first period while the Blues scored twice on just four shots on goal in the first. In the second period, the Blues were led 11-6, but the Bruins were removed from the table.

Jay Bouwmeester fired a shot from the blue line that O 'Reilly scored for the first goal with 3:13 to score in the period. This gave O'Reilly a goal in four straight games – and five goals in four games – and a point in six straight games. O & # 39; Reilly is only the fourth player in the history of the NHL to register the first goal of his team in four consecutive games.

O'Reilly has 22 points in the playoffs are the most for a blue in a playoff series. His eight points in the final are the points most marked by a career blue in a Stanley Cup final, ahead of Frank St. Marseille.

The Blues got stuck at the end of the period before Jaden Schwartz finally dropped the puck. He took the puck in the Bruins area, where he moved to Pietrangelo, who shot to the net, through the slot to get some space, and returned it with 7.9 seconds to go in the first. .

Pietrangelo also got some help on the goal O 'Reilly, giving him 19 points in the playoffs.

Jordan Binnington stopped his 12 shots in the first period, and some of the shots were difficult by the Bruins. The Bruins had 22 throwing attempts at eight for the Blues in the first. After two periods, the Bruins shot 23-10 and the shot attempts 40-22.

But the Blues have held on.