from Travis Yost of TSN,

On Monday I wrote that I expected the 2019 Stanley Cup final to be a defensive-minded, low-scoring affair.

The opening pair of games in Boston only served to solidify that line of thinking. Game 1 featured six goals, just a tick under the league average during the 2018-19 season. But there’s plenty of nuance there. First, one of those six goals was the empty-netter by Brad Marchand late in the third period. Second, and perhaps more importantly, an extensive amount of game was played along the perimeter and in the neutral zone. More than anything, the Blues and Bruins managed to capitalize on the small number of opportunities they had.

Game 2 – a five-goal overtime affair – wasn’t much different. That was especially true at 5-on-5, where the two teams have already played about 100 minutes of hockey.

In Game 1, it was St. Louis that couldn’t generate much of anything in the Boston offensive zone. The Blues carried just 28 shot attempts in total, and their offence certainly faded in productivity as the game progressed. In Game 2, the roles merely flipped. In the 50 5-on-5 minutes in Game 2, the Bruins managed just 37 shot attempts and collapsed as the game wore on.

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