The beating blues continues to beat, make a series

The Bruins are trying to win their seventh Cup in 95 seasons.

The fourth match was a bloodbath. Literally. Boston captain Zdeno Chara, 42, threw a puck into his face early in the second period and left a puddle of blood on the ice as he skated to the locker room. He came back on the bench in the third, but gave only moral support and looked, helplessly, that Ryan O'Reilly was putting the Blues forward for good, there was only 9:22 .

So it's tied after four games and it turned into a touching and thunderous final of the Stanley Cup. The fifth game will take place Thursday night at the Garden and we know that the series returns to St. Louis for the sixth game on Sunday. The hockey world can only hope that Chara will come back. Best theater. More just and right.

In both Bruins defeats against the Blues, Boston lost a defender early in the game. In the second game, Matt Grzelcyk was the victim of a concussion when he was hit from behind. The fourth match was marked by the bloody shot in Chara's face. He needed stitches and probably dental work. None of this is good.

"They are physical," said Bruins coach Bruce Cbadidy. "We have released a player [Grzelcyk] and a player [Oskar Sundqvist] got suspended for that. Tonight, a puck has deviated from Z's staff. Sometimes there are breaks. At the end of the day we have to play through. I was waiting for a physical series and we are there. "

Amen. The fourth game was a rock battle in which the Bruins played from behind all night. The series looks more and more like a war of wear and, if the Bruins continue to lose players, this creates problems. Boston has more speed and skill, but St. Louis has the thunder of heavy metal.

"We are not sure of Z and Grizz for the fifth game," Cbadidy said. "They can both be available. May not be. & # 39;

St. Louis scored the first goal on a wraparound O'Reilly goal in the 43rd second of the game. It was an indispensable lift for local fans who were shattered during Saturday's carnage.

The Bruins drew later in the period when Charlie Coyle of Weymouth (like Natick's Doug Flutie and Lou Merloni of Framingham, it's still "Charlie Coyle of Weymouth") scored a goal after recovering the rebound a shot of Chara. Coyle scored nine goals in 21 playoff games. He scored only 12 goals in 81 games.

The good moment in Boston was short-lived. Vladimir Tarasenko scored a loose rebound at 15.30 of the first. St. Louis led 2-1 after one.

There were no penalties in the first period. It was a major victory for the Blues and their coach, Craig Berube. The boss of St. Louis made all the difference so that his team is over-penalized in the first three games. It seemed odd on the part of the man who accumulated more penalty minutes than all NHL history players except six over his 17-year career, but the whining worked. After being scoring 17 penalties in the first three games, the Blues, thirsty hitters, were released from the whistle for the first 20 minutes.

"We will not take care of officials until they stink and attack us," Cbadidy promised before the match.

The Bruins coach was not in a position to discuss many calls. St. Louis strikes harder, works harder and deserves the win.

In the fourth minute of the second, Brayden Schenn's shot went up on Chara's stick and hit him near the mouth. The 6-foot-9 captain crashed like a sawed Sequoia, falling down in front of the ice.

After the whistle, Chara got up and left leaving a pool of blood. The video tape above the center window blinked "Blued blue". Clbady.

Without Chara, the Bruins had trouble getting the puck out of their own hands. Boston resisted a series of shots, could not clear and struggled to get out of the ice.

There was a bit of Bruins magic late in the second.

When Connor Clifton had a blow to the head, the Bruins tied for a shorthanded goal from Brandon Carlo, thanks to the ingenious work of Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. He was 2-2 after two.

Chara skated with his teammates before the third, but went on the bench and stayed. On the advice of Bruins coaches.

Big Z was just another spectator when O'Reilly gave the Blues victory.

Cbadidy pulled Tuukka Rask 1:45 to the left, but almost immediately Schenn took the puck from Clifton and scored it 4-2.

Cut of "Gloria" and Don Draper party in the stands.

It looked a lot like the second game, which the Bruins lost in overtime. Boston was skating empty on arrival.

Thursday in the garden should be a beauty.

Dan Shaughnessy can be contacted at [email protected].