Jordan Binnington could only do so much.
The St. Louis Blues’ rookie goaltender was besieged by the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday, turning aside 34 shots as Boston claimed a 4-2 victory. It was one-way traffic toward Binnington for the final 38 minutes as the Bruins looked to erase a two-goal Blues lead, and while the 25-year-old netminder performed admirably it wasn’t enough to stem the tide as the TD Garden was treated to a thrilling comeback win by the home team.
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Things started out much differently for the Blues, as St. Louis took advantage of a clearly rusty Bruins team to jump out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period. The veteran Boston squad took the entirety of the first period to get back up to game speed, understandable given that the team last played 11 days prior to Monday’s contest.
However, once the Bruins got back into a familiar groove the ice seemed to tilt towards the Blues’ net as Boston frantically clawed back into the game. A pair of Boston goals in each of the final two periods was the result of a dominant stretch in which the Bruins outshot the Blues 29-12 and grabbed hold of the game against a shell-shocked St. Louis team that could do nothing to protect its early lead.
Sporting News is tracked live scoring updates and highlights from Game 1 between the Bruins and Blues in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. Check out how it all went down below:
Bruins 4, Blues 2: Updates, highlights from Game 1
Third period
0:00 – Game over! Bruins score four straight to seal Game 1.
1:26 – Blues pull the goalie again.
1:49 – ? GOAL ? Brad Marchand hits the open net and cements the Bruins’ victory. Bruins 4, Blues 2.
2:12 – Binnington has vacated the net.
2:13 – St. Louis calls a timeout. All eyes on Jordan Binnington now.
4:32 – It’s back to 5-on-5 with no damage done, but the Blues are playing against the clock now.
6:32 – And now the Blues will have to kill a penalty. Interference against Sammy Blais.
6:58 – It already feels like time is running out for the Blues in this game.
10:00 – A “We want the Cup” chant has started at the TD Garden. It’s only Game 1, but Boston fans have their sights set.
10:19 – Torey Krug just ran through Robert Thomas. My goodness!
11:05 – St. Louis gets one shot in the power play, but they still trail by one.
13:05 – The Blues will go on the power play after David Krejci is nabbed for an illegal check to the head.
14:39 – ? GOAL ? Boston takes its first lead of the game. Kuraly flicks it in from in close, and that one was a long time coming. Bruins 3, Blues 2.
15:27 – And there it is, the Blues get a shot. Rask is hardly bothered by it, but it’s something to build on.
17:03 – The Blues haven’t had a shot in nearly 11:30. That’s incredible given how the game started.
20:00 – The third period has started, and the Blues will look to shift the momentum back after a huge 20 minutes for the Bruins.
Second period
0:00 – The siren goes and the second period ends. The Blues seem lucky to get out of that period on even footing, given the 18-3 shot disparity over the past 20 minutes. Blues 2, Bruins 2.
1:01 – Binnington under siege now. Bruins lead 42-25 in shot attempts, with many coming over the past few minutes.
4:40 – Schenn gets rocked by Zdeno Chara, and the crowd is loving it. The Bruins are definitely on the front foot now.
7:19 – ? GOAL ? The Bruins finally punish the Blues on the power play as Charlie McAvoy sends a wrister past Binnington. Tie game. Blues 2, Bruins 2.
8:56 – Another Bruins power play as Oskar Sundqvist cross-checks Clifton. Blues living dangerously here.
9:37 – Jordan Binnington makes his 14th save of the game on a David Backes snap shot. The Blues rookie is winning the goaltending battle so far.
12:35 – The Blues kill off the penalty, again. Bruins are 0-3 on the power play so far tonight.
14:35 – Penalty to St. Louis. Joel Edmundson heads to the box for high-sticking.
15:42 – Not surprisingly, those two goals have injected life into the game. The pace has picked up noticeably.
17:44 – ? GOAL ? Boston gets on the board just 1:16 after the Tarasenko goal, as Connor Clifton redirects a Sean Kuraly pass behind Jordan Binnington. Blues 2, Bruins 1.
19:00 – ? GOAL ? A terrible giveaway behind the Bruins net leads to Vladimir Tarasenko giving St. Louis a two-goal advantage. Blues 2, Bruins 0.
20:00 – The middle frame is underway with Boston searching for an equalizer.
First period
0:00 – The horn sounds and the first period is over. Shots are tied a 8-8, but the Blues take a 1-0 lead into the dressing room. Blues 1, Bruins 0.
1:15 – Penalty over. The Bruins had a big chance at the tail end of the power play, but Brad Marchand fanned on an open-net shot.
3:15 – Another power play coming up for the Bruins. Robert Thomas goes off for hooking Patrice Bergeron.
4:45 – The penalty is over, with the Johansson chance being the best one generated by Boston during that power play.
5:00 – Marcus Johansson just stepped by everybody like they weren’t there, but his shot hits the post.
6:45 – The Bruins will go on the power play now after David Perron gets called for tripping. Boston had about 30 seconds on the man advantage after the delayed call, but couldn’t get a shot.
7:47 – A loud “Lets go Bruins” chant breaks out after the crowd was quieted by the neutralizing play of the Blues.
9:30 – The goal has really settled the Blues done after Boston dominated the opening stages of the game. Play is much more even now.
12:37 – ? GOAL ? Brayden Schenn rips a wrister from the slot and it evades Tuukka Rask. Blues 1, Bruins 0.
14:23 – Penalty is over. The Boston crowd roars in appreciation as the Bruins successfully kill it off.
16:23 – Blues will go on the power play after Sean Kuraly tripped Brayden Schenn.
17:45 – Jake DeBrusk strips a Blues player at the Boston blueline and wins the foot race to the puck, but his shot goes wide of an onrushing Binnington.
19:25 – Wow! The Bruins nearly squeeze one past Jordan Binnington after a set play from a faceoff. Boston’s used their time off well.
20:00 – We’re underway! The opening faceoff looked like a lize-sized game of dominoes as no one want to give an inch.
Pre-Game
St. Louis is also ready.
Boston is pretty excited for Lil Nas X.