6. Gunnarsson sweeps the goal line to preserve Game 5 win
One of the things that was infuriating during the final was Boston fans’ propensity to say the Blues were just lucky in their wins. Their argument was that Boston crushed St. Louis in their wins and the Blues barely escaped in their wins.
There is some truth to that, but it ignores a lot of the intricacies of the game. The Blues earned their wins with hard work and determination.
One of the biggest examples of that was a game-saving play by Carl Gunnarsson to help preserve the day for the Blues in Game 5.
With the game in the balance, the Bruins looked poised to take advantage of a Blues turnover with under three minutes in the contest. Binnington was without his stick after a collision in front of the net and the Bruins took the shot from distance.
Interestingly, the loss of the stick did not come into play since the shot went glove side. Nevertheless, the puck snuck through the elbow and the collective breaths of two entire cities and two fan bases were held for only a moment, but what felt like an eternity.
In a strange turn of events, the defenders backing up actually benefited the team. Gunnarsson had taken up a spot just outside the left circle and that put him in prime position to see the puck sneak through and sweep it away before it could trickle in or Charlie McAvoy could tap it in.
These types of plays go on several times in any game and often get forgotten. This one may never get forgotten.
Game 5 is usually an insanely pivotal game, with the winner usually taking the entire thing more times than not. The Blues holding on for another away win not only proved they could win on the road and a tight game, but gave them the confidence they would need to take Game 7 in Boston too. It did not hurt that win gave them a cushion of two clinching games either.
Like the play that kept things tied in the Dallas series, Gunnarsson’s goal line save preserved the win. Without that, who knows what might have happened. Instead, we know how it all turned out.