The Boston Bruins regained the home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals by dominating Game 3, 7-2. That gives Boston a 2-1 lead in the series.
The Bruins would dominate this contest from the start, scoring three first-period goals, and netting for unanswered tallies before St. Louis would get on the board. Patrice Bergeron got the scoring started with his ninth goal of the playoffs, a power-play goal, and Charlie Coyle and Sean Kuraly would add a goal late in the frame.
Boston would score their third goal with just 10 seconds left in the first and then would add a goal 41 seconds into the second when David Pastrnak scored the second power-play goal of the game for Boston. After St. Louis got on the board at the 11-minute mark, Torey Krug scored the Bruins third power-play goal of the game. That would chase Jordan Binnington from the contest.
Each team would add power-play goals in the third, as Boston outscored St. Louis 2-1 in the frame earning the 7-2 victory.
Featured Game
Boston Bruins (-107) vs. St. Louis Blues (-114)
Boston Notes
The Bruins “Perfection Line” had another big contest, as Patrice Bergeron scored a power-play goal and added two assists. Defenseman Torey Krug also had a huge night, adding three assists in scoring a power-play goal of his own. His four points tied a franchise record for points in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Boston power-play scored four goals in Game 3, knocking Jordan Binnington out of the game for the first time this season. The Bruins scored on all four of their power-play opportunities.
St. Louis Notes
There was a lot of grumbling from the St. Louis coaching staff about the number of power plays that Boston received, but St. Louis actually had one more power-play chance than the Bruins did. Boston just capitalized, scoring on all four of their power-play opportunities while St. Louis scored on just one of five. St. Louis was also beaten at the face-off circle, losing 56% of the draws.
Ivan Barbashev has four points (3 goals, assist) in his last seven games.
Goaltending Matchup:
Tuukka Rask continues to dazzle, winning nine of his last 10 starts now. Rask stopped 27 of 29 shots he faced and did not allow his first goal and tell this contest was well in hand. The Boston goaltender has a 1.91 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in the playoffs. He has not allowed more than three goals since Game 4 in the first round of the playoffs and has allowed two goals or less in seven of his last eight starts.
Binnington took it on the chin in Game 3, allowing five goals on 19 shots before his night was over. that is the fourth time in these playoffs that he is allowed at least five goals in a game, but has responded by allowing two goals or less in the following three contests. The St. Louis goaltender has a 2.54 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.
Stat Pack:
Bruins:
Goals For: 3.50
Goals Against: 2.00
Power-Play: 35.9%
Penalty Killing: 86.9%
Blues:
Goals For: 2.91
Goals Against: 2.77
Power-Play: 18.1%
Penalty Killing: 72.7%
Trends to Know
Boston Bruins are:
5-0 in their last five games on the road.
2-4 in their last six Stanley Cup Finals games.
36-16 in their last 52 games.
St. Louis Blues are:
19-8 in their last 27 games at home.
37-19 in their last 56 games.
4-1 in their last five games on Monday.
Prediction
The St. Louis Blues got beaten badly in Game 3, but they have responded with victories in the last two such contests. That includes twice against the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference finals, where the team allowed three total goals after allowing five in each of the prior contests.
We thought the two teams would split these two games in St. Louis, but figured it would be the Blues that would come away with the victory in Game 3. We stick to our principles here and believe that the series will be tied at two heading back to Boston.
The total is set at 5.5 and we look for this to be a low-scoring affair. Binnington rebounds to prove why he was the Calder Trophy winner. Look for the St. Louis Blues to win 3-2.
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