Boston Bruins: Series even as top line falters in the Stanley Cup Final

The Boston Bruins took the St. Louis Blues to overtime in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, but it was the Blues that came out on top to even the series at one apiece.

After winning Game 1 in pretty convincing fashion, the Boston Bruins had an opportunity to put the St. Louis Blues in a big hole before the series shifted back to St. Louis for Game 3. Instead, the Bruins allowed the Blues to get back into the reckoning for the Stanley Cup.

Charlie Coyle opened the scoring for the Bruins at the 4:44 mark of the first period on the power play; a promising sign considering how lacklustre the Bruins were with the man-advantage in Game 1. The lead was short-lived, as the Blues tied the game a few minutes later after Robert Bortuzzo‘s shot deflected off of Matt Grzelcyk and past Tuukka Rask.

The mayhem continued just 40 seconds later after Joakim Nordstrom was left wide open in front of the net and managed to beat Jordan Binnington through the five-hole. Once again, the Bruins were unable to hold the lead for long as Vladamir Tarasenko cleaned up his own rebound to even the score.

Before the first period ended, the game took a turn for the worse for the Boston Bruins; Grzelcyk was retrieving the puck in his own end of the ice and lost his balance as he got to the boards. At the same time, Oskar Sundqvist came in to finish his check but caught the Bruins blue liner up high and as a result Grzelcyk’s head slammed into the glass.

Grzelcyk left the game and did not return, and at the moment his status for Game 3 of this Stanley Cup Final remains unclear. Meanwhile, we will have to wait to see if the NHL’s Department of Player Safety decides to get involved.

After a chaotic first period, the pace of the game began to settle down. Both teams had their chances, but neither team was able to capitalize.

The Boston Bruins were visibly frustrated throughout the game, most notably Brad Marchand. It was a poor performance overall from the team’s leading scorer, getting caught out of position a few times on the defensive end whilst failing to generate any real scoring threats in the attacking zone. On his most dangerous rush, Marchand opted to pass rather than shoot after cutting into the slot.

However, he wasn’t the only member of the ‘Perfection Line’ to have an off night.

Patrice Bergeron was not his usual self throughout the night, specifically in the face-off circle, a place he’s normally at his best. He only won five draws all night and was on the bench for two critical defensive zone face-offs late in the third period.

David Pastrnak‘s best chance came in the final moments of regulation as he was left open in the slot off a face-off, but was unable to beat Binnington with a quick wrist shot.

St. Louis controlled the puck for seemingly the entire 3:51 of overtime before Carl Gunnarson scored on a shot from the point to give the Blues a 3-2 win in Game 2.

The Boston Bruins have to feel as though this was a missed opportunity for them to extend their lead in the series. They beat Binnington twice on some pretty soft goals by his standards and could have had the Blues on the ropes early on. Instead, some sloppy defensive play and lack of intensity allowed the Blues to steal a win at TD Garden.

The Boston Bruins let Game 2 slip away from them, but it’s safe to say that we’ll see a better effort from them in Game 3 on Saturday night.