The Boston Bruins lost Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
If the Bruins want to win the Stanley Cup still, this has to be their last defeat of the season, because otherwise there is no chance.
Game 5 was very unfortunate for the Bruins. Boston started with the right rhythm. Zdeno Chara got a huge ovation from the TD Garden crowd when he was introduced before the game, and the Bruins began firing against Jordan Binnington. But they couldn’t break through.
On the other side, the Blues got their momentum and they were able to cash in.
The second period was rather brutal for the Bruins. If the Blues made it 2-0 in a legal fashion, it would be classified as a deserved loss for the Boston Bruins. The Bruins turned the puck over on several occasions and missed on the shots way too often to actually start some momentum ride.
It was as frustrating as it could have been for the Bruins in their potentially last home game of the season. Tyler Bozak tripped Noel Acciari and David Perron scored the goal that would prove to be the game-winner for the Blues.
That call was lousy, blatant, brutal, egregious, name it however you want. It was just that bad.
But the Bruins have already been there. They have to ability to turn that bad call in their favor. Without surviving the first round, they would not be playing almost two months later.
Against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Bruins played Game 5 at home with the series tied 2-2. Auston Matthews opened the score midway through the third period, but Tuukka Rask was interfered by one of the Leafs’ players.
Heading back to Toronto, the Bruins had to face elimination in a very hostile environment. But they had the hard feeling from that Game 5 and promised themselves to do everything possible to come back to Boston.
They even gave up the first goal in that Game 6, yet still won the contest and, eventually, the series.
And the rest was history.
History repeats itself. Former Maple Leaf Tyler Bozak was there to offend Acciari as the Blues scored an illegal goal. The Bruins response has to be the same as it was almost eight weeks ago.
Boston already knows they can score seven goals in that building in St. Louis. They can do it again.
The last team to win an elimination Game 6 to force Game 7 and eventually win it in the Stanley Cup Final was the Boston Bruins in 2011. It won’t be easy. It will be a heart-stopping action for the fans, but the Stanley Cup Final is still on.
Will the Bruins just dwell on the missed opportunity in Games 4 and 5? Or will they actually grab their own destiny in their own hands?
It’s now or never for the Bruins.
