St. Louis ties series with first ever Stanley Cup Final win on home ice
Ryan O’Reilly led the St. Louis Blues to their first ever Stanley Cup Final win on home ice. A dominant, disciplined performance from the Blues was all it took to tie the series at 2-2. Game 5 is Thursday night in Boston.
Below is a play-by-play recap of the action.
Third period
Final buzzer: 4-2 win St. Louis
ST. LOUIS GOAL, 4-2
Schenn scores an empty net goal, and the arena explodes. The Blues are about to win their first Stanley Cup Final game in St. Louis, ever.
Make that 4-2. pic.twitter.com/duNkEOHg1I
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 4, 2019
First time Rask has allowed more than two goals in regulation since Game 5 vs. Columbus. (nine games)
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) June 4, 2019
ST. LOUIS GOAL, 3-2
It’s the Ryan O’Reilly Game! Another rebound goal for St. Louis, and they’ve taken the lead halfway through the third period. It’s his first time scoring two goals in a single playoff game, and what a time to do it.
GO CRAZY, ENTERPRISE CENTER!!!!! #stlblues #WeAllBleedBlue pic.twitter.com/w950t2Ux06
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 4, 2019
Ryan O'Reilly's teams are 11-0-1 all-time when he scores 2 goals in a game (reg. season or playoffs)
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 4, 2019
Warrior alert. He’s yet to actually play a shift in the third period, but the captain is there on the bench cheering his team on.
Chara is back, with a cage
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 4, 2019
Second period
Final buzzer: 2-2
St. Louis had incredible sustained momentum and failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Instead, they allowed Boston to crawl back into the game and we’re tied up for the third period. Most important period in St. Louis history up next.
This is the third time in the series the Blues and Bruins will go to the 3rd period tied 2-2. #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) June 4, 2019
Hits are 32-29 Blues, but blocked shots are 12-3 Bruins. And Blues' power play in the Cup Final is now 1 for 12, plus shorty against.
— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) June 4, 2019
BOSTON GOAL, 2-2
St. Louis dominated five straight minutes of play and earned a power play. Still, the Bruins capitalized shorthanded to tie the game. Deflating moment for the Blues. Brandon Carlo scores on another example of poor rebound control tonight.
SHORTY FOR BRANDON CARLO!!!! WE'VE GOT A TIED GAME ONCE AGAIN!!! 2-2 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/OAei8bsjtO
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) June 4, 2019
Picking up an assist on his team's 2-2 goal, Patrice Bergeron passes Phil Esposito for sole possession of 2nd all-time on the @NHLBruins career playoff points list (103. Most: 161- Ray Bourque)
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) June 4, 2019
Ouch... Schenn’s shot deflected up off Chara's stick directly into his mouth. He went straight to the dressing room for repairs.
Ouch. 😷
Zdeno Chara headed straight to the dressing room after taking a puck to the mouth. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/q0zZWErwq3— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 4, 2019
First period
Buzzer: St. Louis 2 -1
Fast paced period especially for the Blues, who are playing like their future is on the line. Which it is. You can’t let Boston take a 3-1 series lead going home for Game 5. Blues have the jump in the first period.
The physicality has arrived tonight!
That might leave a mark. #stlblues #WeAllBleedBlue pic.twitter.com/7vWimsijlf
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 4, 2019
You have a seat, too, Carlo. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/WiDk5N4TdA
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 4, 2019
ST. LOUIS GOAL, 2-1
Another juicy rebound leads to a goal, this time Vladimir Tarasenko puts it past Rask to take the lead. Alex Pietrangelo makes it happen with a nifty toe drag to open up the shooting lane, and a wide open Tarasenko is there to clean up the loose puck.
We're just gonna keep on bringin' it. #stlblues #WeAllBleedBlue pic.twitter.com/ThwSbNGsZR
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 4, 2019
BOSTON GOAL, 1-1
Charlie Coyle hops on a loose rebound from Chara’s shot and ties the game up in St. Louis. Coyle now has scored in 3 consecutive games.
.@CharlieCoyle_3 ties the game! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/iuNYoMnD0v
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) June 4, 2019
ST. LOUIS GOAL, 1-0
HELLO!!! 43 seconds into the first period, Ryan O’Reilly erases the horror of Game 3 by wrapping it around the pad of Tuukka Rask. It’s his first playoff goal since Game 1 of the San Jose series. Vince Dunn gets on the scoresheet with an assist in his first game back from three weeks sidelined with injury.
The Blues have now scored 12 goals this post season within the first two minutes of a period, matching the NHL record.
It only took O'Reilly 43 seconds to open the scoring! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/jarN0zblix
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) June 4, 2019
Pre game
Brett Hull channelling major Hulk Hogan vibes.
Brett Hull is an animal
(🎥 @HeresYourReplay) pic.twitter.com/3stJazHu1v— Yahoo Sports NHL (@YahooSportsNHL) June 4, 2019
Jordan Binnington looks to bounce back from his first ever NHL pull in Game 3’s loss after allowing five goals on 19 shots. He’s traditionally strong after losses, posting a 6-2 record with a 1.84 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage in the postseason.
The Blues will have two new faces from Game 3 as Oskar Sundqvist returns from suspension, and Vince Dunn returns from injury.
Keep an eye out for Boston’s power play, as they are inches away from passing the 1980-1981 New York Islanders for best power play in a single postseason.
#NHLBruins are challenging the #StanleyCup postseason record for the best Power Play unit pic.twitter.com/L8u3M5ARKg
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 2, 2019