Boston Bruins: Craig Berube’s cry a potential turning point in final

The Boston Bruins are facing elimination in the playoffs after they lost Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. One of the main reasons why the Bruins are down in the series is the officiating. Especially after a cheap cry and rant from the  St. Louis Blues head coach, Craig Berube.

In the first two games, the series had been officiated rather smoothly. Oskar Sundqvist rammed Matt Grzelcyk into the boards, but he got a one-game suspension for that. For the St. Louis Blues, the cries and rants of their coach Craig Berube might be the potential turning point of the Stanley Cup Final. From the Boston Bruins perspective, they hope that it’s just the healthy motivation they received.

There is still nothing lost for the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final; the last team to win Game 6 to force and eventually win Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final was the Boston Bruins in 2011. Just two years before that, the Pittsburgh Penguins achieved that against the Detroit Red Wings – it is possible to win it this way.

But perhaps the score of this series is not as fair. Firstly, the Boston Bruins have missed out on so many opportunities in Game 5 at home that they nearly deserved to lose. But at the end of the day, it is the illegal goal deciding the fate of the tie-breaking game in the Stanley Cup Final. It is just that. There should have been overtime being played, to say the least.

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After Game 3, which the Bruins won 7-2, the Blues head coach Craig Berube decided to call out the officials.

“We were the least penalized team in the first three rounds, and now all of sudden we’ve taken 14 penalties in one series,” the Blues head coach said Sunday following Game 3 loss for his team.

“I don’t agree with all the calls.”

In Game 3, the Blues had five power plays, the Bruins had four. To that point of the series, the Bruins had 14 power plays and the Blues had 12 and they scored on delayed call in overtime of Game 2.

“I’m not here to judge the officials and calls that could have been or couldn’t have been. They go both ways. I really don’t want to say anything about it,” said Berube after Game 5. Insert your own reaction to all that.

You have probably seen this moment like two times because you don’t want to see it anymore. This might have lost the Bruins the Stanley Cup Final. It has not yet, it might have had, just to make sure. This is not a goal, it is a Bruins power play to maybe making it a 1-1 hockey game.

As many people around don’t like Pierre McGuire, kudos to him for saying “That’s a trip”. No one other from the NBC crew had the balls to call a trip a penalty on-air.

But let’s get back to Game 4, the first game after Craig Berube judged the officials ; there is another important moment. The only Bruins penalty in Game 5 was the Brad Marchand‘s ‘slash’ against Jordan Binnington, probably because of this from Game 4.

From the second period of Game 4, Connor Clifton‘s play against Vladimir Tarasenko. Let’s not blame the officials for that ‘call’, because the Boston Bruins scored there shorthanded.

Another moment from Game 4, when Charlie Coyle was held by Alex Pietrangelo. In Game 5, right before David Krejci saved the goal from Pietrangelo, Torey Krug was held and it led to the Bruins turning the puck over and the Blues nearly cashed in. They made sure to cash in on the controversial play later.

You can do nothing but agree with Torey Krug’s response to the media during the post-game interview.

But after all of this, the Blues still haven’t won anything. Ironically, both the Bruins and the Blues have survived this situation before. The Blues lost Game 5 at home against the Dallas Stars, then dominated to win Game 6 in Dallas before winning Game 7 at home. The Bruins have done the same against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.

Until you don’t lose the fourth game of the series from your perspective, you always have the chance. Just like in that series against the Maple Leafs, when Auston Matthews opened the score in the third period after Rask was clearly interfered against in Game 5. How did the Bruins respond?

They won Game 6 and brought the series back to Boston for Game 7. From now on, the Boston Bruins have to focus on what´s in front of them and have one last chance to win at home ice this season.