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The final of the Stanley Cup could end Sunday in St. Louis. The Blues are one win away from their first championship.
The Bruins did not show up for long periods, clearly part of Neely's frustration, and failed to shake rookie goalie Jordan Binnington, who made 38 saves in 39 out of 39 shots.
The most frenetic part of the game took place after Jake DeBrusk's goal at 6:28. On a delayed call – Torey Krug took a stick up and stuck to the room – DeBrusk finished the shot in one pass from the circle, on a Krug pass, with 6:28 to go.
It's after the goal of Perron and Neely's fast left ball (his 54th birthday, nothing less), which passes through Tuukka Rask (19 saves) after Blues striker Tyler Bozak, Noel Acciari. No call.
The rumors that followed this sound were not the most powerful sound heard Thursday night at TD Garden.
The pre-match introduction sparked a breathtaking energy explosion, a chorus of 17,565 cries, as powerful as this building has ever been.
At the end of the second period, the thunder caused by the introduction of Zdeno Chara dissipated, and the noise has little more than a ripple.
The Bruins were down 1-0 on a Ryan O'Reilly goal and had the full spirit of a team that saw the off-season in the near future. The Blues started to win races they had no chance of winning while the home team was so excited at first. A tie 2-2 series seemed to be turning for the Blues.
And Binnington, the St. Louis goalie, was behind the wheel.
The return of Chara after a probable fracture of the jaw propelled the Bruins' minds to the ceiling, making them faster, harder and more furious. Boston topped St. Louis, 17-8, in the top 20, but Binnington's outstanding work kept the draw. He was also lucky when Brad Marchand arrived at the station, thanks to a nice configuration of David Pastrnak.
The shots were 11-2 in Boston early, then 13-4, then 15-5, and Binnington had every opportunity for the Bruins. Rask was good on the other end, but not so busy. He slipped from station to post to prevent a Perron player from scoring the Bruins' only goal after the first 40 minutes.
When O'Reilly gave the Blues a 55 second lead after the start of the second period, he took the lead of Chara and Charlie McAvoy.
The two Bruins defensemen were stopped in pursuit of the goal behind Zach Sanford, who sent an interesting setback to O'Reilly. The St. Louis center, who scored his Conn Smythe Award goal with three goals in the last two games, pushed Rask into a backhand shot and beat him with a shovel on his glove.
O'Reilly, who has scored three times in his previous 22 games, was the best player on the ice, winning pucks along the walls and setting the blues transition game in motion.
The Bruins offense, largely due to the blues defense of the Blues, was not found. Coach Bruce Cassidy, who was already mixing his forwards more than usual with 11 forwards and seven defenders dressed, threw his lines into a blender. The best striker was Marcus Johansson, who created several opportunities with his skating and superb puck handling.
In the closing seconds of the period, as Krug and Oskar Sundqvist were struggling and both players were waiting for a participation call that never happened, David Krejci may have played the game.
The veteran center slipped into the goalmouth and in front of a shot from Alex Pietrangelo, who was going for an empty cage and a 2-0 lead, and did his best imitator Michael Ryder. Instead of a typing stop, Krejci removed the puck from the chest.
It was a spectacular and timely game on the part of a Bruins forward – one of too few of the evening.
When Alexander Steen caught Krejci without the puck at 3:09 into the third period, resulting in a penalty for interference, the Bruins' power play was desperate to take advantage of one of the few calls received throughout the evening.
But the Bruins went 0 for 3 on the power play, and if the fans did not let go, they moaned. It was as if the Chara celebration was taking place a week ago.
This weekend, a party in 52 years could well hit Saint-Louis.
Follow Matt Porter on Twitter at @mattyports
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