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Torey Krug flew on the ice with his helmet, like his big and bad predecessors in Boston's defense at the time of Eddie Shore and Bobby Orr.
He lined up Robert Thomas in the center of St. Louis and dropped him off his feet, delighting the crowd and sending an undeniable message to the Blues: the Bruins were awake after 11 months of layoff. They were ready to fight for the Stanley Cup.
"I think this has energized our team, and that's all you're trying to do," Krug said after Boston caught up to its two-goal deficit to beat St. Louis 4-2 in the first match, Monday night. "Hope this has helped the guys on the bench."
Sean Kuraly scored to break the tie and score a goal in the third period. Tuukka Rask blocked 18 shots to allow the Bruins to come back from a two-goal deficit. The second game of the series of the seven best games will be held Wednesday night.
WATCH | The Bruins come from behind to beat Blues in Game 1:
Forty-nine years after Bobby Orr beat the Blues to win the NHL in 1970, the Bruins scored goals for defensemen Connor Clifton and Charlie McAvoy. Brad Marchand added an empty net about three minutes from the end. The unofficial winner came when Krug retired from the ice after losing his helmet during a fight with David Perron in front of Boston net.
Jordan Binnington made 34 saves for the Blues, who have not returned to the final since winning Boston in 1970. But Boston has had a long layoff, at least in the beginning.
In slow motion since May 16, after completing the Carolina Hurricanes' sweep, the Bruins spotted a two-goal lead over St. Louis before getting out of their sleep.
WATCH | Torey Krug poses a monstrous success and without helmet to Robert Thomas of the Blues:
Brayden Schenn took the 1-0 advantage halfway through the first period on a shot at the third chance. In the first minute of the second, David Pastrnak was found behind the net of the Bruins and Schenn was again present, this time to let Vladimir Tarasenko in the slot to raise the score to 2-0.
But the Bruins beat the Blues 18-3 in the second period, finishing the game with a 38-20 lead.
"I was pretty much a spectator after that," Rask said.
Just 76 seconds after Tarasenko's goal, Clifton gave Kuraly the advantage to reduce the deficit to one. And in the middle of the second, in the Bruins' fourth power play, McAvoy went straight to the center and pbaded the glove in front of the Binnington glove to tie it up.
The third minute was still tied when Noel Acciari, to Binnington's left, turned and swept the puck at Kuraly. He stabilized with his skate, then poked him with his stick to give the Bruins their first lead of the game.
"In the second half, we stopped skating, we returned the ball and gave them momentum," said Blues coach Craig Berube. "I thought they were the best team after that."
The crowd sang a song of "Let's Go Bruins!" Although David Krejci's pain calmed the building, she came back to life thanks to Krug.
"You know, you do not want to play with this guy," said Clifton. "Do not make this guy crazy."
After the whistle, fans chanted "We want the Cup!"
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