5 Clear Advantages Boston Bruins Have Over St. Louis Blues in Stanley Cup Finals
By Austin Pert
This year's Stanley Cup Playoffs will be remembered for years to come. Shocking upsets, series-changing controversies, and the Cinderella story of the St. Louis Blues have all combined to bring us a memorable bracket.
The Blues have reached the Stanley Cup Final against all odds, having had the worst record in the NHL as recently as early January of this season, before winning two-thirds of their remaining 45 games and sneaking in the back door of the playoffs. Three series wins later, they're in the Finals.
But in order to ultimately lift Lord Stanley's Cup, St. Louis will have to overcome several fundamental mismatches that their opponents, the Boston Bruins, will provide.
1. Physicality
Make no mistake about it, both teams got to this point due to unrelenting toughness. However, the combination of Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara have given opposing teams headaches for the better part of a decade, and so far during this year's playoffs, there is no evidence to suggest that they'll be letting up on the biggest stage. Boston's got the advantage because they've been here before, for now.
St. Louis Blues advance to the Stanley Cup Final versus the Boston Bruins....this series is going to be physical, mean, and downright full of skill. Unreal finale for the season.
— Benjamin J. Pierce (@BenjaminJReport) May 22, 2019
2. Rest
Boston will have 11 days off between the end of the Eastern Conference Finals and Game 1 against the Western Conference champion Blues. Now, it is important to note the St. Louis will get six days off, but when two teams who rely on their physical and mental toughness are set to compete, the advantage lies with the more rested team.
The Stanley Cup Final schedule has been released — and the Bruins are going to be waiting for quite a bit.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) May 18, 2019
How will ‘rest vs. rust’ affect Boston during an 11-day break?https://t.co/rWTgog8aXD
3. Playoff Experience
The Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, upsetting the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. They also made the finals in 2013, falling short against the Chicago Blackhawks. And while far from the entirety of today's Bruins roster were on those teams, the Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and Zdeno Chara core all lifted Lord Stanley's Cup in 2011, so big game experience leads to another Boston advantage.
Bruins’ experience, power play could be difference in Cup Final https://t.co/GWkTYDKRO8
— Marcia minto (@minto_marcia) May 23, 2019
4. Home Ice
This one is pretty straightforward. By virtue of finishing with eight more regular season points then their series opponent, the Bruins will have home ice advantage during the Cup Final, with four potential games at the TD Garden in the event of a seven-game series, while the Blues can only count on three games at the Enterprise Center. Home crowds can make a huge difference, so the Blues must win at least one game in Boston to have any chance at winning the series.
Big shouts to @RachelGBowers for producing this jam/adding major value: https://t.co/PVmX3nQZkb via @BostonGlobe
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) May 24, 2019
5. Goaltending
It wasn't Tuukka Rask's best regular season, only playing 46 games and recording a career-worst .912 save percentage (minimum 10 games). But this has been the Finn's best postseason to date, with a .942 save percentage and a goals against average of just 1.84. Blues' goalie Jordan Binnington has also had a good playoff stretch, but the 25-year-old is a rookie who has played in just 52 career NHL games, making net-minding a much bigger question mark for St. Louis.