Photo Courtesy Of NESN.com
By: Garrett Haydon | Follow Me On Twitter @thesportsguy97
Pre-Game Notes
Arena: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Home: St. Louis Blues (32-23-5)
Away: Boston Bruins (36-17-8)
St. Louis’s Lineup
Forwards
Schwartz-O’Reilly-Tarasenko
Thomas-Bozak-Maroon
Steen-Sundqvist-Blais
MacEachern-Barbashev-Fabbri
Defense
Edmundson-Pietrangelo
Bouwmeester-Parayko
Dunn-Bortuzzo
Goalies
Binnington
Allen
Boston’s Lineup
Forwards
Marchand-Bergeron-Heinen
DeBrusk-Krejci-Kuhlman
Cehlarik-Coyle-Backes
Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner
Defense
Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-Miller
Goalies
Rask
Halak
First Period
Both teams appeared to be ready to go right from puck drop as there was a noticeable buzz in the building. The fourth line of the Bruins had the game’s first scoring chance as Chris Wagner was denied in front by Jordan Binnington. Both teams traded chances but neither squad was able to find the back of the net. Alex Steen opened the scoring with a wrist shot off the rush to beat Tuukka Rask to give the Blues the early lead.
Alexander Steen gives the #stlblues a 1-0 lead … pic.twitter.com/LXsGabuTIn
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) February 23, 2019
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The Bruins got some opportunities but they were few and far between as they tried to get back in the game. The Blues didn’t give the Bruins an inch in the first period as they took the play to Boston. The B’s picked up a power play late in the period as Jake DeBrusk was hooked on a net drive. The Bruins had nothing doing on the man advantage and to make matters worse, Torey Krug picked a penalty to negate the power play.
Vladimir Tarasenko hit the post in the final seconds during the four on four situation, nearly resulting in the Bruins falling behind by two.
Score: 1-0 Blues
Second Period
The Bruins killed the Blues power play as St. Louis failed to get any significant scoring chances. The Blues continued to dominate the flow of play as the B’s continued to struggle in their own end. Wagner tied the score after a great individual play by Kevan Miller in the neutral zone.
Chris Wagner buries a feed from Kevan Miller and we’re all tied up in St. Louis 1-1 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/h1WPKcSVUW
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) February 23, 2019
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Both teams continued to be physical and strong on the puck as it remained tied. The Blues picked up a power play as Charlie Coyle took a hooking penalty in his first game as a Bruin. The B’s killed off the power play as the Blues got a few opportunities but couldn’t score. A great shift by the Bruins nearly resulted in the go ahead goal but Binnington came up huge with a outstanding save on David Backes.
David Backes just got robbed. pic.twitter.com/QRis4vvR6u
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) February 23, 2019
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The Blues picked up another power play as Brad Marchand was called for holding with over four minutes left in the period. The Bruins killed the penalty as the Blues got a bunch of high quality scoring chances but Rask was on top of his game to keep it tied.
Score: Tied 1-1
Third Period
Both teams continued to have strong neutral zone play as neither team was able to get an offensive rhythm. The Bruins struggled to string chances together but looked to be the better team on the ice. Chances came for the B’s but there weren’t able to take the lead as Binnington continued to have a strong game. A nice defensive play by Miller stopped an odd man rush by the Blues with a block on a pass. The Blues went to the man advantage as Brandon Carlo was called for tripping.
The B’s killed the penalty as the Blues failed to get any great scoring chances. The game continued to be a classic low scoring low chance game as both goaltenders continued to be at their best. The pace of play picked up big time in the last few minutes as both teams were desperate for the go ahead goal.
End Of Regulation: Tied 1-1
Overtime
The Bruins held the possession in the opening moments of the extra session but couldn’t find the back of the net. Rask continued his great game with a couple of monster saves in overtime.
Shootout
Tyler Bozak scored on the first attempt while DeBrusk was denied by Binnington. Coyle buried his attempt to tie the shootout in the third round. Sammy Blais won it with a great shot in the sixth round as Danton Heinen missed which snapped the B’s seven game winning streak.
Sammy Blais with a disgusting and reprehensible shootout goal to win it pic.twitter.com/ToRKG4kOSA
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) February 23, 2019
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Final Score: 2-1 Blues
Three Stars Of The Game
First Star: Rask. Another incredible performance by the Bruin goaltender nearly resulted in a win as he continued his great stretch of play.
Second Star: Binnington. The Blues goalie was just as good as Rask and backstopped St. Louis to their 13th win in 14 games.
Third Star: Backes. Another solid performance by the big winger in this one. Nearly had a goal but played a very solid, strong game.
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