St. Louis fans were eager with excitement waking up on June 9, 2019. It was a warm Sunday with summer right around the corner, and the Blues had a chance to win the Stanley Cup that night.
After falling behind 1-0 and 2-1 in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final to the Boston Bruins, the Blues came away with a 4-2 win in Game 4 and a 2-1 win in Boston in Game 5 to set the stage for Game 6 at home.
The Blues had dominated their previous home game, outshooting the Bruins 38-23 in a 4-2 win. However, the Bruins were the better team in Game 5 with a 39-21 shot advantage in a 2-1 defeat.
Perhaps the nerves turned into anxiety for the Blues, who fell behind early and could never climb back into it in Game 6 against the Bruins
After the Blues failed to capitalize on an early power play, it was Brad Marchand who opened the scoring on a Bruins 5-on-3 midway through the first period.
Boston outshot the Blues 12-9 in the first period before St. Louis turned the tide slightly with a 10-8 advantage in a scoreless second frame.
Then things really went the Bruins' way in the third period.
Brandon Carlo doubled the lead 2:31 into the final frame and Karson Kuhlman scored the first playoff goal of his career to make it a 3-0 game midway through the third. Ryan O'Reilly continued to score clutch goals to make it 3-1, but David Pastrnak answered to make it a three-goal game yet again, and Zdeno Chara put the game away with an empty-netter.
Game 6 was a clear missed opportunity for the Blues, who went 0-for-4 on the man advantage, including two chances to tie the game in the second period.
But the Blues had one game left, and it was something they wouldn't have imagined just a few months prior.
"If you told me four months ago we were going to be in the Final in Game 7, I think I'd take it," Craig Berube said after the game. "We've been a good road team. We've won twice up there in this series, so we're a confident group."