Stanley Cup Final: Blues Win 2-1 On Road in Game 5, Take Series Lead 3-2

Photo Credit: USA Today Sports Images

Stanley Cup Final: Blues Win 2-1 On Road in Game 5, Take Series Lead 3-2

Craig Campbell, Co-Host FinalScore/Contributor
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June 7, 2019

The St. Louis Blues are one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.

St. Louis defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 at TD Garden in Boston Thursday night and take a 3-2 series lead in the pivotal Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.

After a scoreless first period, Ryan O’Reilly opened the scoring less than one minute in the second period for the St. Louis Blues on a beautiful backhanded, between the legs pass from Zach Sanford from behind the net. An uncalled tripping penalty on Tyler Bozak helped pave the way for some insurance with 9:24 left in the third period, when David Perron scored to put St. Louis up 2-0, where everyone on the ice all but assumed there would be a penalty called but the Blues continued play and caught the Bruins on their heels. The Bruins finally got on the board to make it a 2-1 game with 6:28 left in the game by a shot from Jake DeBrusk on a delayed penalty.

Blues’ rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington was spectacular in Game 5, saving 38 of the 39 shots he faced. With the win on the road, Binnington is the 5th goalie in league history to record 9 road wins in a single playoff year, and breaks a tie with Ron Hextall (8 in 1987) for the most-ever in a postseason by a rookie goaltender (from ESPN Stats & Info).

The biggest storyline in Game 5 was the officiating. There were many questionable calls and missed calls throughout the game, with St. Louis' Zach Sanford getting away with a couple of apparent high hits on Torey Krug and Tyler Bozak’s aforementioned uncalled trip of Noel Acciari with 9:30 left in the third period that led to a Blues goal and a 2-0 lead receiving no penalty, which had Bruins fans hurling things onto the ice in protest.

Game 6 will be Sunday in St. Louis, where Boston will look to even the series and take it back to TD Garden for a Game 7, while the Blues will have a chance to clinch their first Stanley Cup Championship on their home ice.

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