The Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues are set to meet in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, a rematch that has been 49 years in the making.
The Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues last met in the Stanley Cup Final back in 1970, in a series that ended with one of the most iconic goals in not only the history of the Boston Bruins but the history of the NHL.
While Bobby Orr‘s goal was the one to win the Stanley Cup for the Bruins, there was much more that led up to that moment. Orr completed the sweep for the Bruins, but the Blues did not make it easy.
The Boston Bruins dominated the series early on. They took Game 1 by a score of 6-1, including a hat trick from Johnny Bucyk. They followed that up with a 6-2 win in Game 2, but this time the scoring was a bit more balanced for the Bruins. Ed Westfall and Derek Sanderson scored two each for the Bruins.
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Through two games the Bruins had dominated the Blues, and both of those games were played in St. Louis. With the series shifting back the Boston, the Bruins were well on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.
Game 3 was similar to the first two games of the series. The Bruins won 4-1, with two goals from Wayne Cashman. Through the first three games on the Stanley Cup Final, the Boston Bruins had outscored the Blues 16-4. Of the goals that got past Gerry Cheevers, only one of them came at even strength, while the other three all came on the power play for the Blues.
The Bruins held a 3-0 series lead, but the Blues still refused to quit. Game 4 ended up being the closest one in the series. In fact, the Bruins were trailing 3-2 until Bucyk scored just past the midway point of the third period to tie the game. Orr scored just 40 seconds into overtime to win 4-3, closing out the series and giving the Boston Bruins their first Stanley Cup since the 1940-41 season.
Phil Esposito led the Bruins in scoring during their playoff run with 27 points in 14 games, but it was Orr who would be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. Four members of that Bruins team were later inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame: Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk and Gerry Cheevers.
Hockey has changed a lot since these two teams last met in the finals, but the Boston Bruins will be hoping for the same result that they had all those years ago when the Stanley Cup Final begins on Monday night.