The St. Louis Blues against the Boston Bruins has quickly become a rivalry for both players and fans. That rivalry was kept fresh with the first rematch coming so early in the 2019-20 season.
It seems like it was just weeks ago that the St. Louis Blues took down the Boston Bruins in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. While the memories for Blues fans will last a lifetime, it truly was not that long ago that Game 7 ended and the Blues hoisted the Cup.
You knew going into the game that the Bruins would want a measure of revenge. While the Blues needed to get a win just for the sake of another W in this new season, fans were hoping for a win just to shut up some of those east coast fools that want to believe it was all a fluke.
Unfortunately for those supporting the Note, we did not get what we wanted. In fact, the Blues just loss to a team that was marginally superior on the night, but it was those fine margins that made the difference.
The referees, or referee in this case, was very whistle happy in this game. There were eight power plays combined for both teams and maybe twice that many penalties called overall, many of which were soft.
Sadly, the Blues gave up the first goal of the game on a Boston power play. It was a shot that needed to be stopped, but it trickled over the line and allowed the Bruins to settle in with a lead in their back pocket.
Making matters worse, the Blues put themselves in precarious spots trying to be physical. The Bruins’ second goal came on an odd-man rush that sprang from the Blues over-pursuing a hit.
St. Louis could not connect well through the entire game, but never gave up on it either. In the end, it was just not going to be their night, however, as a puck meant to be cleared ended up rolling up on end and into the empty net near the end of the game. St. Louis would fall by a final score of 3-0, getting shutout for the first time in 2019-20.
Cons: Bruins first goal
Let’s call it the way it is right here. Jordan Binnington made several quality saves throughout this game, but he needed to save the puck that ended up slipping past for the first goal of the game.
Credit has to go to David Pastrnak for unleashing a one-time slap shot that would make Alex Ovechkin proud. Still, it was not a quick pass that set it up.
Normally, you can give a slight break to a goaltender that just got over into position and got a piece of it. That is not what happened here.
The Bruins were tossing it around on the perimeter, so this was not a bang-bang play. It was slow passing and the pass from the left of center meant even less room to cover for Binnington.
Binnington was not in position for ages, but he was set up and waiting for a split second by the time the shot came. This was not an instance where he was scrambling or diving over.
He got a piece of it and even he would likely say he should have gotten all of it. This one goal won’t make a world of difference in the season, but it gave Boston the confidence they needed after Binnington shut them down the last time the two teams met.
Pro/Con: Hitting
The Blues were not nearly as bruising as they were in the Stanley Cup Final. Nobody expects them to be until the 2020 playoffs run around.
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That said, the Blues kept pace with the Bruins physicality. In fact, the Blues edged the Bruins in the hit department, 27-22.
What was interesting was who picked up the hits. Oddly, Sammy Blais, known for his hitting, did not get credit for a single one.
On the flip side, David Perron, of all people, was tied for the team lead with four hits. He was joined by Oskar Sundqvist, Robert Bortuzzo and Ivan Barbashev, with Ryan O’Reilly and Mackenzie MacEachern credited with three apiece.
It is great that you had the team being that physical and including some guys you would not think of as hitters in the battle. Unfortunately, all the hitting was not good.
Too often, the Blues went out of their way to hit Boston players. The second goal for the Bruins was a direct result of that.
As the puck came around to the far side from behind the Boston net, both Blais and MacEachern went to hit the same person. Colton Parayko got tied up with another Bruins player at the blue line, which led to a three-on-two for the Bruins. The overpursuit of phyciality cost the Blues in this instance and, perhaps, the fact the game was 2-0 instead of 1-0 led to a change in the eventual outcome.
This was not the only time the Blues were guilty of this either. It was just the only time it cost them in such a manner.
Cons: Too many penalties
It does not matter whether you agree with the penalties or not. Many that root for the Blues would consider some of the penalties called soft, at best.
Regardless, the Blues put themselves in situations where the officials had the option to put someone in the box and they did. It is easier said than done, but when you are facing the best statistical power play in the NHL, you cannot go into the box with the frequency that occurred.
You can look at the stat sheet and say four penalty kills is not out of the ordinary. That is true.
You can say the Blues killed off three of the four and likely should have killed off all four, if not for a lucky goal. That is true as well.
When you play with fire, however, you are going to get burned eventually. St. Louis might have one of the better penalty kills in the league in terms of organization, but you tax your team by using it.
Also, you take time away from your offense in the attempt to find a tying goal. For example, Jaden Schwartz and Perron play very little or not at all on the penalty kill. Thus, they were on the ice a full minute or more less than some of their linemates.
Those are two of your better offensive players kept off the rink because you are too busy killing penalties. You can blame the officials or the style of game, which got more heated than a normal October game, but St. Louis needed to find a way to stay out of the box.
Overview
The reality of this game is that is sucks to lose, but really only because it fuels the garbage that people like to throw around in online forums. Whether it is Blackhawks fans or Bruins fans, the online trolls just got emboldened.
They will say Binnington was a fluke since he let in one soft goal. They will say the Blues got outplayed by the team that deserved to win the 2019 Cup.
Of course, rational people and Blues fans will know that is utter nonsense, but the truth has never stopped a good story before.
Personally, I am not disappointed with the loss other than the team it came against. We know that Boston is a top-tier team and they were going to want to send a message with this rematch coming so soon after the final. I wonder if this game would have been as heated if it came in January. I do feel bad for those that were in attendance in Boston, of whom there were a decent amount, hoping to relive some of the Game 7 magic.
The truth is, like Joey Vitale said, this was a game of margins and Boston just got those small bounces that helped them out. They were not faster than the Blues or more physical or just oozing with more talent in the flashy points of the game.
Boston made the most of their chances and the Blues got shut down by an All-Star goalie. There is no shame to that. Besides, Blues fans would give up any regular season win against Boston from here until the end of time for that Stanley Cup win.
Now St. Louis has to turn their focus to a ridiculously timed afternoon game in Detroit. Seriously, who schedules a game at 4 pm?