St. Louis Blues Pros/Cons Final Game 5 Vs. Boston Bruins

BOSTON, MA - JUNE 06: St. Louis Blues left wing David Perron (57) reacts to scoring the eventual game winner during Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues on June 6, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JUNE 06: St. Louis Blues left wing David Perron (57) reacts to scoring the eventual game winner during Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues on June 6, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The St. Louis Blues were nowhere near a must-win scenario against Boston in Game 5. Nevertheless, you felt they had to take advantage of a banged up opponent and not let hope glimmer.

The St. Louis Blues came into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins with a lot of hope. They were just days removed from an inspirational, dominating performance in Game 4, winning 4-2.

However, we have seen that hockey, perhaps more than any sport, seems to have momentum dry up faster than a bead of sweat in the desert sun. So, a big win to even the series meant very little for the pivotal fifth game that would give one team the biggest lead of the series.

That said, the Blues did what they needed to do at the start of this game. The Blues knew the Bruins were going to get an emotional boost with their captain, suffering from a broken jaw, taking to the ice and starting the game.

St. Louis weathered those first 10 minutes or so, allowing themselves to get their legs underneath them. Their goaltender had to bail them out of some tough spots, but that is why you trot out a goalie you trust more than anything night after night.

The Blues then pounced on a mistake in the second period, taking the go-ahead goal just 55 seconds into the second period. The Blues have made a habit of scoring in those first couple minutes. Fans just had to wait 20 minutes and then a few seconds for the score to come this time around.

After that, it was a lot of nervy, but solid defending by St. Louis. The Blues held on for over a full 20 minutes after their go-ahead goal.

Then, the Blues would benefit from a controversial non-call on what looked like a trip. Fans out east will make it all about that non-call, but the Blues still had to capitalize and they did.

The Blues got the eventual game-winning goal just over halfway through the third period and then they defended for their lives. Boston got a goal to make things nervous at the end, but the Blues held on for the 2-1 win.

The St. Louis Blues are now one win away from a Stanley Cup title.

Pros: Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn

Early in the hockey game, the Blues as a whole, were not that great. They were focused too much on hitting and defended, with even more emphasis on the first part.

That’s where Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn came in. They might not have played together, but together they formed the backbone of a less than stellar Blues attack.

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For almost the entire game, the Blues best lines were somewhat disappointing and flat. All game long, there just looked to be something slightly off about guys like Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz.

Despite that, Schenn was still bringing the energy. Schenn tied for the team lead with six hits in over 18 minutes played.

David Perron might have had a goal, but he was poor in so many other areas.  His bonehead penalties in the offensive end continue to put his team in a bad spot

Regardless, O’Reilly was just doing anything and everything in this game. He played on the power play and shorthanded.

O’Reilly also chipped in with both goals. Scoring the first goal of the game was huge fot this team. He took a slick pass from behind the net and switched to his backhand, waiting just long enough to roof it past the goaltender.

After the controversial non-call, O’Reilly did a good job of holding the puck in the zone. He got an assist, though he more left the puck rather than passed it off, but it all counts.

These two pivotal players were on point all night long. Even though their linemates were here and there all game, these two found a way to stick with the plan.

Reliance On Defense

The Blues found a way to get this win under their belt despite not playing up to snuff offensively. St. Louis only mustered 21 total shots on goal and that was not completely due to some unbelievable push by Boston.

Much of it was due to the Blues inability to keep skating. St. Louis fell into a funk of trying to defend and that is a dangerous mindset to get into, especially with a potential championship on the line now.

The Blues did a good job, limiting the number of grade-A, open chances against. Even so, the sheer number against them was too great.

Boston finished with 39 shots on goal and 65 attempts toward net. That is just too much work for your goaltender. If the guy in goal is not absolutely on point the entire game, any one of those could have snuck in.

The Blues were not necessarily slow, but they were not moving their feet as much as they needed to. This led to the opponent looking much quicker than may have truly been the case and painted the Blues in a corner several times.

Pros: Jordan Binnington

If we are going to pick on the team for playing too much defense, you have to give credit to the guy that still kept the pucks out. Jordan Binnington was nothing short of fantastic in this game.

He endured some bumps and pushes along the way, including having his stick chopped from his grasp with no penalty call. Through it all, he was sharp, crisp in his movements and focused on the puck the entire time.

For the longest time, it looked as though Binnington might actually get a shutout. Interestingly enough, the goal that got by Binnington was one you would actually like him to save.

Do not take credit away from the shot. It was a one-time rip from a dangerous spot. Still, it just snuck through between the body and elbow of Binnington and that’s a save he usually makes.

Even so, the rest of the game was fantastic for 50. He made a total of 38 saves and was constantly under pressure.

If not for Binnington in the first period, Boston likely escapes the opening 20 minutes with a lead in their favor. Instead, it stays even after a frame and the Blues take it from there.

Every now and then, you need your goaltender to steal you a game and be your best player. Binnington was that for Game 5.

His record was close to .500 following a win the previous game, but Binnington has been lights out in Games 5-7 in all the series and he kept that up here. He battled, punching a puck from mid air, and just kept stopping pucks, seeming to make the right decision about rebounds and freezing the puck, each time.

Cons: Penalties And Dangerous Hits

This section gives one pause to even mention. The frothing Bruins fans do not need any extra ammunition to set the online world on fire than they already have. That said, I pride myself on calling it as I see it.

With that in mind, the Blues played a dangerous game in Game 5. They gave Boston three power plays, the first of which was an easily avoidable delay of game call.

That came in the first period. That would have been a crushing blow to allow a power play goal to Boston that early in the contest, all because Vince Dunn kind of freaked out and air-mailed the puck.

Then, you had two interference calls that were weak. It will not be argued they were not penalties in this space, because they were. You could argue it was incidental contact since the puck was there and the Bruins that got interfered with simply let the puck go by them instead of playing the puck, which might have kept the contact legal.

Regardless, the Blues put far too much pressure on themselves by having to kill off these costly penalties. We have seen Boston win a game on their power play alone and that could have happened here.

Another dangerous aspect of the game was the quality of the hits the Blues threw. St. Louis actually got out-hit, but the Blues were still knocking Boston down. Some of them were, admittedly, borderline.

Ivan Barbashev had a hit on Marcus Johansson in the first period that the announce crew said might garner a second look by the league. Zach Sanford threw a hit on Torey Krug that was very close too.

Krug made himself vulnerable by lowering his head and reaching for the puck. Still, it cannot be denied that Sanford raised the shoulder into the hit in a dangerous manner. Lastly,  Schenn kind of went in somewhat late on Zdeno Chara.

I admit to yelling for the Blues to hit Chara every time he had the puck to test the injury, but wanting it to come within the flow of play. The hit itself by Schenn was fine, but it was very close to being too far after the puck was gone for some officials.

Teams that win championships are almost always accused of being dirty by their opponent. I do not believe the Blues are a dirty team, but for the first time I could see more what the opponent might be seeing.

Pros: Penalty Kill

One last counter point. One of the cons was the Blues allowing the Bruins too many power plays, but one of the best aspects of the Blues was their penalty kill.

Unlike Game 1 and 3, when the Blues PK ended up looking stagnant or was using up too much energy, this was a fantastic example of conserving energy by being smart. The Blues stayed contained in their position, while still being aggressive with puck pressure.

A huge reason St. Louis was able to kill the penalties with something resembling ease was their faceoff wins. O’Reilly was huge in the circle, winning 68% of his draws, many of which came shorthanded.

Oskar Sundqvist won 100% of his faceoffs and he got over two minutes of PK time. So many Bruins attacks were thwarted by forcing them to come the full length of the ice to set things up instead of getting the puck in the zone immediately.

Overview

The watch party for Game 5 was another unbelievable experience. I almost got a cramp in my neck due to sitting four rows from the ice and looking up, but it was still worth it.

The watch party at Enterprise Center was a legit sellout this time. Previous games have been called sellouts, but there were big gaps in the seating where you could tell the numbers were fudged. Not this time. There were no gaps. It was a full building.

The energy in there was palpable and you could just sense it going through the screen right into the team. The fans were just so ready for everything good to come and each goal was celebrated as though this was the final win. The problem is, it was not the last one.

However, as crazy as that arena was for the watch party, you have to figure it will be 10-times that for Game 6 with a chance to win the team’s first Stanley Cup at home.

But, it took an entire team effort to even give fans, and the franchise, that opportunity. You needed great goaltending and got it.

You needed timely goals and you got it. Some luck had to play into things, but all the best teams had plenty of moments where they were luckier than thye were good. This game was just that for the Blues.

On the impressive side, you have to give a lot of credit to Chara. I thought it would be a huge mistake for him to play, but he never became a detriment to his team. He finished with four hits and three blocks, which is impressive on any night but even more so when playing with an injury. I do not believe Chara was ever this motivating force the way NBC made it out and they overplayed the story, but it cannot be denied that this guy showed more guts than 90% of the people we know.

But, speaking of guts, there were plenty on display for the Blues. St. Louis blocked plenty of shots, but even those they did not were often altered by having a body in front.

Sure, the Blues over-relied on their goalie, but the defense was good too.

I get what the narrative will be from national media and Bruins fans. I’m not going to pretend it would not be our narrative if roles were reversed.

Nobody in St. Louis cares, though. This city has waited long enough and suffered enough to let the complaints of other fans bring us down. We have been through that same pain far too many times and will not apologize for things actually bouncing the Blues way.

Now, it is just down to one more win.