For the first time since 1970, Tuesday’s St Louis Blues win sends them to the Stanley Cup Final. They’ll face the Boston Bruins, who made the final after sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes. The Blues got goals from David Perron, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Brayden Schenn, Tyler Bozak, and Ivan Barbashev en route to a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. They look forward to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in Boston on Monday (8 p.m. ET on NBC).
St Louis Blues Win Game 6 in Front of Roaring Crowd
Blues Get Going Early in the First
The Blues continued their trend of getting the early first goal in the series as Perron scored on a tip of a Sammy Blais attempt to make it 1-0 just 1:32 into the game. It seemed to rattle San Jose goalie Martin Jones a bit. While Jones was good, he wasn’t the elite goalie he had been in past elimination games.
Later in the first, the Sharks’ Barclay Goodrow tripping St. Louis defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, giving the Blues a power play. Tarasenko wasted no time, as only seven seconds had elapsed before the puck was in the back of the net. The Blues walked into the first intermission with a 2-0 and all the momentum at home.
Second Period Sees Game Even Out
San Jose seemed more energized coming into the second period, and it took 6:40 for it to pay off. Dylan Gambrell scored his first NHL goal from the right circle to cut the Blues’ lead to one. The momentum swung to the visitors, as shortly after Colton Parayko kept a sure goal out of the Blues’ net on a golden opportunity for the Sharks to tie the game.
But St. Louis got a break coming back the other way, and Robert Thomas drew a hooking penalty on Sharks defender Justin Braun. And while not as instant as the first power play, Schenn was able to find the back of the net for his first goal in 14 games. The struggling forward shined through and gave the Blues a 3-1 lead.
The Sharks didn’t give up though, and they had a few rushes near the end of the period that were all shut down the Blues’ defense and goaltender Jordan Binnington.
Sharks Push in the Third
The Sharks got an early power play thanks to a Patrick Maroon trip to no avail. Kevin Labanc was able to ring an awfully good chance off the left post, though. The Sharks kept pushing, and Binnington was able to make some stellar saves to keep the Blues’ lead intact. The Blues went 19:45 between shots, however, made it 4-1 late in the third to seal the victory.
The third period was reminiscent of the series as a whole. Neither team looked particularly dominant, instead, the period was filled with tense and fast hockey. The Sharks made a hard push but weren’t able to mount anything, leading to a dramatic St Louis Blues win in front of an absolutely roaring Enterprise Center.
What’s Next?
The Sharks had some pretty magical moments this postseason, from the improbable comeback against Vegas in Round One to Joe Pavelski’s Game 7 heroics against Colorado. Though there are many questions about their future. Did we just witness Joe Thornton‘s last NHL game? Will Pavelski test the free agent waters? Was this San Jose’s last chance at a Stanley Cup with this aging core? It’s certainly going to be an interesting story to watch this summer.
St. Louis has a chance to do what the Sharks have not — win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. It’s their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1970 and only the fourth in franchise history. Tuesday night’s St Louis Blues win accomplishes something that only a few months ago, no fans thought was possible. The team has clearly proven its prowess. With the goaltending of Binnington and their depth showing off in spades, it might be time to #PlayGloria during their Stanley Cup parade sometime soon.
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