VETERANS, FRESH FACES COMPETING FOR BRUINS, BLUES IN STANLEY CUP FINAL

Storylines are aplenty heading into the third all-time head-to-head postseason meeting between the Bruins and Blues, with each roster featuring a mix of veterans and fresh faces all sharing the common goal of capturing the Stanley Cup.

* Much of the core for each club was developed via the NHL Draft, with key contributors for both Boston and St. Louis selected by the clubs. "The Perfection Line" of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak were selected by the Bruins in 2003, 2006 and 2014, respectively. Meanwhile, captain Alex Pietrangelo (2008), leading scorer Jaden Schwartz (2010) and rookie standout Jordan Binnington (2011) are among the 12 draft picks on the Blues roster.

* St. Louis’ Doug Armstrong and Boston’s Don Sweeney enter the Stanley Cup Final after being named finalists for the 2018-19 NHL General Manager of the Year Award.

* Armstrong, who officially took over as Blues general manager on July 1, 2010, is directly responsible for the acquisition of nearly all current St. Louis players. The only exceptions are five players acquired during Armstrong’s time as the team’s Director of Player Personnel – a tenure he began May 29, 2008: Jake Allen (drafted June 2008), Pietrangelo (drafted June 2008), Alexander Steen (acquired November 2008), Schwartz (drafted June 2010) and Vladimir Tarasenko (drafted June 2010).

* Sweeney, meanwhile, began his tenure as Bruins general manager on May 20, 2015. Though much of the roster was in place before his hiring, Sweeney re-signed key veterans like Marchand, Pastrnak, Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara, and acquired several players in the last 12 months who have made noteworthy contributions this postseason, namely Charlie Coyle (6-6—12 in 17 GP) and Marcus Johansson (3-6—9 in 15 GP). He also signed goaltender Jaroslav Halak on July 1, 2018; Halak posted a 22-11-4 record and five shutouts in 40 appearances during the regular season.

* Sweeney played 15 of his 16 NHL seasons with the Bruins, helping the club reach the Stanley Cup Final in 1990 (a five-game defeat against Edmonton). Sweeney finished his career with one campaign in Dallas – where Armstrong was the general manager.

* The two reconnected last season when Armstrong struck a deal with Sweeney to have current Blues goaltender Binnington loaned to Boston’s AHL team – the Providence Bruins – for the 2017-18 season. Binnington played 28 games alongside current Bruins Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton.

* On Nov. 21, 2018, Armstrong named Craig Berube interim head coach – a decision that eventually led to the team’s turnaround. Berube has since been named a finalist for the 2018-19 Jack Adams Award and became the 11th head coach in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final after taking over midseason.

* Berube appeared in one Stanley Cup Final as a player, helping Washington to its first-ever appearance in 1998 (a four-game defeat against Detroit). His Bruins counterpart, Bruce Cassidy, has never previously appeared in a Stanley Cup Final as a player or head coach.

CAPTAINS CHARA, PIETRANGELO THE BACKBONE OF BRUINS, BLUES

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara and Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo lead their respective teams into the Stanley Cup Final and can both make history with a championship.

* Captain since 2006-07, Chara is one of five current Bruins who won the Cup in 2011 and can become the first player to captain the Bruins to multiple Stanley Cup wins. Lionel Hitchman (1929), Cooney Weiland (1939) and Dit Clapper (1941) each captained the Bruins to one title, and the club did not designate a captain for their championships in 1970 and 1972.

* Chara (Trencin, Slovakia) also can become the first European-trained captain in League history to capture the Stanley Cup multiples times; the only others to win one were Nicklas Lidstrom (Vasteras, Sweden) with Detroit in 2008 and Alex Ovechkin (Moscow, Russia) with Washington in 2018.

* Captain since 2016-17, Pietrangelo can lead the Blues to their first Stanley Cup. He is the second player in franchise history to captain the Blues to the Stanley Cup Final – Al Arbour wore the “C” in each of the club’s first three NHL seasons (1967-68 to 1969-70).

* After setting the franchise record for points by a defenseman in a postseason, Pietrangelo had high praise for Blues greats that came before him – including defenseman Bob Plager, who skated with St. Louis in each of its first three trips to the Stanley Cup Final.

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS HISTORY: BRUINS VS. BLUES

Boston and St. Louis are set to meet in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time and first since 1970, when Bobby Orr scored his iconic Stanley Cup-clinching goal as the Bruins completed a four-game sweep of the Blues. St. Louis will make its return to the Final 17,914 days after Orr’s famous winner, while Boston will appear in the decisive series for the third time in the last nine postseasons. A look back at their previous playoff meetings:

Stanley Cup Final

* Bruins forward Phil Esposito led all skaters in assists and points (2-6—8 in 4 GP). At the time, he was the fourth player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to average at least two points per game in a Stanley Cup Final (min. 4 GP), following Toe Blake in 1944 (3-5—8 in 4 GP), Jean Beliveau in 1956 (7-3—10 in 5 GP) and Henri Richard in 1960 (3-5—8 in 4 GP).

* Bruins forward Johnny Bucyk led all players with six goals (6-0—6 in 4 GP), nearly matching the output of the entire Blues roster as Boston outscored St. Louis 20-7 to conclude the postseason on a 10-game win streak.

* Four different Bruins scored a game-winning goal, with Bucyk (Game 1), Ed Westfall (Game 2) and John McKenzie (Game 3) setting the stage for Orr’s iconic Cup-clincher in overtime of Game 4.

1972 Semifinals (BOS 4, STL 0)

* The Bruins scored at least five goals in each game, including a 10-2 win in Game 2 before the series shifted to St. Louis. Bucyk led all players in goals and points (6-6—12 in 4 GP), capping the series with two goals in the Game 4 finale at St. Louis Arena.

* The Bruins went on to earn a six-game win over the Rangers in the ensuing series to capture their fifth Stanley Cup in franchise history and second in a three-year span. Three Bruins that appeared in the 1972 Semifinals – Esposito, Wayne Cashman and Don Awrey – went on to play for Team Canada four months later in the 1972 Summit Series, skating alongside Red Berenson who they faced in the 1970 Stanley Cup Final.

STRONG SPORTS TIES LINK BOSTON AND ST. LOUIS

In addition to their Stanley Cup Playoffs history, the cities of Boston and St. Louis also share a long history in other North American major professional sports.

Major League Baseball

* The St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox have played each other four times in the World Series, with St. Louis winning the first two (1946, 1967) and Boston winning the last two (2004, 2013).

National Football League

* The New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams by a score of 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI on Adam Vinatieri's last-second field goal.

National Basketball Association

* The St. Louis Hawks and Boston Celtics met in the NBA Finals four times in a five-year span, with Boston winning three titles (1957, 1960, 1961) and St. Louis capturing one (1958).

* Basketball legend Bill Russell was selected by the Hawks with the second overall pick in the 1956 NBA Draft but went on to capture 11 championships as the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty, including three titles against the team that drafted him. His statue stands outside Boston City Hall.

PLAYOFF QUICK CLICKS

* D.J. Smith hired by Senators as head coach

* Brock Nelson agrees to six-year contract with Islanders

* Mike Modano joins Wild as executive advisor

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department