BOSTON • Three down, one to go. The Blues are on the doorstep of hockey history, about to win the first Stanley Cup franchise.
The Boston Bruins' 2-1 win over the TD Bruins gave the Blues a 3-2 lead in the final of the Top Seven Cup. They can win a victory in Match 6 on Sunday at the TD Garden. Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
"It's obviously a lot of emotions going through your mind, etc.," said Brayden Schenn. "We fought all year, we worked all year. We know what is at stake and we will be ready for the sixth match. "
The Blues scored goals for Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron. Rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington, who blocked 38 of 39 shots, has one of the best games to date. During the process, Binnington continued his own walk through the playoff history.
His ninth road win set an NHL record for a rookie goaltender in one season. And he tied the NHL rookie record for the most wins in a playoff game at 15, a mark he now shares with four others.
"He was great throughout the match and did a great job in the first period," said coach Craig Berube. "They came loud, Boston. We were tested in the first (period) for sure and "Binner" was great. Great reason we won the game. "
The Blues killed Boston's power play three times Thursday, scoring 6-0 on the penalty spot as they allowed four power play goals in Saturday's third game. And they may have benefited most from a penalty that was not called.
Midway through the third period, with the Blues up 1-0, Tyler Bozak was forced behind him at Noel Acciari, of Boston. Bozak stretched his stick and seemed to touch the puck, Acciari fell back and the TD Garden crowd, not to mention everyone on the Boston bench, thought it should have been a trigger penalty.
But referees Steve Kozari and Kelly Sutherland have not telephoned. A few seconds later, Perron scored his seventh playoff goal, but the first in the series on a pass attempt that deflected Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask to the goal.
"It's not like something crazy has been forgotten in my opinion," Perron said of the phone call. "I do not know."
The crowd thought otherwise, flooding the ice with debris.
"It was a little battle of pucks," Bozak said. "I went to get the puck with my stick and it got stuck in his feet. I do not know. And then we just got the puck. DP (Perron) tried to pass and he bet on Rask and entered. So we will take it. "
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy did not take it – lightly, it was – when it came to not being called.
"The story changed after the third game," Cassidy said. "There is a complaint or anything presented by the opposition. It seems to have changed everything.
This is an allusion to Bérubé's slight complaints following his team's 7-2 loss in the third game over the number of penalties against the Blues.
Unlike Bérubé after the "Hand Pass" match against San Jose, when the Blues coach barely spoke of this whistle call in overtime, Cassidy had a lot to say about Bozak's no call.
"Their player is en route to the surface," said Cassidy. "It's right in front of the official. … The supervisor withdrew (Acciari) from the game for a concussion. I mean, it's blatant. This had a big effect on the game. "
Cassidy went on to say that the NHL "had a black eye" with their playoff referees and said the defeat on Bozak was "flagrant".
The NHL subsequently apologized for the call for the San Jose pass. At the start of the Cup final, curator Gary Bettman said his head had almost exploded when he had attended this play.
The NHL did not apologize Thursday night.
Stephen Walkom, vice president of the NHL and director of officials, said of Thursday's non-call to a pool reporter after the match:
"We do not comment on judgments in games. There are hundreds of judgments in every game. The official on the game, he saw it and he did not consider it a penalty at the time. "
The Blues had a lead of 2-0 with 9:24 to go, but not for long. While the Blues were about to be whistled for a deferred penalty, Jake DeBrusk shot from the right faceoff circle and defeated Binnington. With 6:28 to play, it was a 2-1 match and TD Garden became alive.
But the Blues resisted the storm along the stretch, continuing their warlike paths. It was their ninth win in 12 games away in the playoffs. In the history of the Stanley Cup, only five teams have won more in a single season.
"Probably not as pretty as we would like, but we ruined everything and did the job," said Schenn. "Binner has been amazing to us. They took it for most of this game. We sat maybe a little too much, and we'll have to change that for the sixth game. "
"They pushed hard in the first, second and third," he said. "I think Binner really stayed on course. And we have a couple late for him.
In fact, the first goal of the game, O'Reilly, scored only 55 seconds after the start of the second period.
Zach Sanford-O's line of Reilly-Perron was together for only 14 games – regular season and combined series, but they finished the fifth game with 14 goals and 27 assists in those games. The first goal was brilliant between the two. – The back of the legs goes from Sanford to O & # 39; Reilly.
In fact, Sanford's pass was between two pairs of legs – defender Charlie McAvoy, then Boston, with O'Reilly at the end of the net. O'Reilly's reverse beat Rask's top shelf.
And helped put the Blues to a win in hockey history.