BOSTON _ It was understandable that the Boston Bruins were rusty as the Stanley Cup Final got underway Monday because they'd had more than 10 days off since they swept to the Eastern Conference title. But they scraped away the rust with strong strokes and sheer will and overtook the St. Louis Blues to earn a 4-2 victory before a roaring crowd at TD Garden.
The Bruins fell behind 2-0 early in the second period but pulled even before the period ended. They began to swarm and dominate and took the lead at 5:21 of the third period, when Sean Kuraly took a pass from Noel Acciari and whipped a shot past St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington, triggering deafening cheers from the towel-waving fans in a crowd that included New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Brad Marchand scored into an empty net to clinch the victory and launch chants of "We want the Cup."
Game 2 will be played Wednesday at TD Garden. Since the Final went to a best-of-seven format in 1939, the Game 1 winner has won the Cup 77.2% of the time (61 of 79 series). However, one of the exceptions was last year, when the Washington Capitals lost their opener against the Vegas Golden Knights but won the next four games.
The Blues, as a franchise are still seeking their first win in a Stanley Cup Final. They were swept in their first three Finals appearances, by Montreal in 1968 and 1969 and by the Bruins in 1970.
The Blues struck first Monday with their first goal in a Stanley Cup Final since Larry Keenan scored 19 seconds into the third period of Game 4 in 1970. It was the only goal of the first period. The Blues looked strong in neutralizing two Boston power plays: the Bruins began the game with a remarkable 34% success rate with a man advantage, so the Blues did well to escape those situations unscathed. They got some help, too, when a shot by Marcus Johansson struck the post.
The Blues' goal was scored by Brayden Schenn, who was a first-round pick of the L.A. Kings in 2009 but was misused and never found a comfortable spot on the wing or at center. The Kings traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011, with Wayne Simmonds, for Mike Richards. The Flyers traded him to the Blues at the 2017 draft and he has flourished.
