Game 1 Officials

The referees for tonight’s game are Steve Kozari (#40) and Kelly Sutherland (#11). The linesmen are Greg Devorski (#54) and Pierre Racicot (#65).

Series Notes

* Since the Final went to the best-of-seven format in 1939, the team that has won Game 1 has gone on to capture the Stanley Cup 77.2% of the time (61 of 79 series). In 2018, the Capitals rallied for a series victory and the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup after losing Game 1 of the Final, winning in five games.

* The winner of Game 1 in any best-of-seven series owns an all-time series record of 476-219 (68.5%), including a 9-5 mark in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* The Bruins are 6-12-1 in their previous 19 Stanley Cup Final openers (5-11 in Game 1 of best-of-seven Final), going on to capture five of their six Stanley Cups after winning Game 1 (they lost Game 1 in 2011). Boston’s six Cups are tied for the fourth-most in NHL history.

* The Blues set their sights on capturing the franchise’s first-ever win in the Stanley Cup Final (0-12). St. Louis aims to become the second franchise in as many years to win its first Cup - a streak last achieved from 2004-2007 when the Lightning, Hurricanes and Ducks each won for the first time.

* Overall, Boston owns an all-time record of 53-49 in Game 1 of best-of-seven series (38-19 at home), while St. Louis is 32-30 (12-18 on road).

* Game 1 of the Final has required overtime 18 times, most recently in 2014 between the Kings and Rangers. In that contest, Los Angeles' Justin Williams netted his eighth goal of the postseason 4:36 into overtime.

Previous Playoff Meetings

Boston and St. Louis are set to meet in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time and first since 1970, whenBobby 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.

1970 Stanley Cup Final (BOS 4, STL 0)

* 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) andHenri 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 Final 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.

2018-19 Regular-Season Series

* The Bruins and Blues split their two matchups in 2018-19, with each team winning on home ice. Boston earned a 5-2 victory Jan. 17 at TD Garden, scoring four unanswered goals to rally from a 2-1 deficit in the second period. Former Blues captain David Backes tied the game late in the middle frame before Chris Wagner scored the winner at 5:27 of the third period.

* In their second meeting, on Feb. 23 at Enterprise Center, the Blues emerged with a 2-1 shootout victory courtesy of 31 saves from rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington, who was making his first career appearance against Boston. Fellow rookie Sammy Blais – who was playing his first game for St. Louis since Jan. 23 – scored the decisive goal in the sixth round of the tiebreaker.

Boston-St. Louis Sporting Rivalry

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.

Spotlight in Goal: Rask vs. Binnington
* Tuukka Rask enters his third career Stanley Cup Final leading all goaltenders this postseason in wins (12; tied), save percentage (.942), goals-against average (1.84) and shutouts (2; tied). He previously backed up Tim Thomas when the Bruins defeated the Canucks in seven games to capture the 2011 Stanley Cup but did not see any game action. Two years later he was in net for all six games of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Blackhawks in six games.

* Despite falling in six contests, Rask shone in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final (2.21 GAA, .932 SV%, 1 SO). He made 59 saves in a triple-OT loss in Game 1 – the highest save total in a Stanley Cup Final game since Patrick Roy (63 SV) in Game 4 of the 1996 Final. In Game 2, he kept the Bruins close after being outshot 19-4 in the opening frame before going on to record an overtime win. In Game 3, Rask turned aside all 28 shots to record his third career playoff shutout. He finished the series with 41, 29 and 28-save performances in the final three games.

* Rask’s .932 save percentage in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final was tied for the third-highest by a goaltender on the losing side of the championship series since the League began tracking the stat in 1955-56 (min. 4 GP), matching Martin Jones (.932 in 2016 w/ SJS) and trailing only Dominik Hasek (.939 in 1999 w/ BUF) and Don Simmons (.933 in 1958 w/ BOS).

* Only three goaltenders have posted a superior save percentage to Rask’s current .942 in a postseason since 1955-56 (min. 15 GP): Jonathan Quick (.946 w/ LAK in 2012), J-S Giguere (.945 w/ ANA in 2003) and Mike Smith (.944 w/ PHX in 2012).

* In his 12th season with the Bruins, Rask (265 W) became the franchise’s all-time leader in regular-season wins during the 2018-19 campaign, passing Hall of Famer Tiny Thompson (252 W), who had held the mark for 80 years after his final season in Boston (1938-39).

* Rask holds a career mark of 47-35 in the playoffs (2.17 GAA, .928 SV%, 7 SO) and sits three victories shy of becoming just the second goaltender in the franchise’s nearly 95-year history to reach 50 career postseason wins. He is currently six back of Gerry Cheevers for the most playoff wins by a Bruins goaltender.

* Rask looks to join Eddie Johnston (1970, 1972), Cheevers (1970, 1972) and Frank Brimsek (1939, 1941) as the fourth Bruins goaltender to win multiple Stanley Cup championships with the franchise.

* A native of Savonlinna, Finland, Rask can become the fifth Finnish-born player - and first goaltender - to win the Stanley Cup multiple times. He would join Jari Kurri (5x), Esa Tikkanen (5x), Reijo Ruotsalainen (2x) andOlli Maatta (2x).

* The Blues’ rise from the basement of the NHL standings to the Stanley Cup Final is in line with the emergence of rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington, who burst onto the scene to make his first career start on Jan. 7 with the Blues sitting last in the Western Conference. In that game, Binnington became the 35th goaltender in NHL history to earn a shutout in his first career start.

* On March 23, Binnington earned his 20th NHL win in just his 25th career start. Only five other netminders in League history recorded their 20th career win in 25 or fewer starts: Andrew Hammond (23 GS), Frederik Andersen (24 GS), Ross Brooks (24 GS), Matt Murray (25 GS) and Bill Durnan (25 GS).

* In the 76 days between Binnington’s first career start and his 20th career win, the Blues rose from last in the Western Conference and nine points back of a postseason berth to sixth in the conference with a nine-point buffer over the closest non-playoff team.

* Binnington, who has been named a finalist for the 2018-19 Calder Trophy, finished the regular season with a 24-5-1 record (1.89 GAA, .927 SV%, 5 SO) to set new franchise marks for wins and shutouts by a rookie. He also became the 10th rookie in NHL history to string together at least nine consecutive wins.

* In the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Binnington has been the only goaltender between the pipes for St. Louis, earning each of their 12 wins thus far – the most ever by a Blues goaltender in a playoff year. He is one of only seven rookie netminders with 12 or more wins in a single postseason.

* Binnington is just the fifth rookie netminder in NHL history, and first in 32 years, to earn each of his team’s first 12 wins in a playoff year. Additionally, he can become the ninth rookie goaltender in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to record every playoff win for a Stanley Cup champion – only two of the eight have required more than eight wins to do so: Patrick Roy (15 in 1986) and Ken Dryden (12 in 1971).

* Binnington enters the Final with a .914 save percentage, tied with Ken Dryden for the sixth-highest by a rookie goaltender since the statistic was officially tracked in 1955-56 (min. 15 GP).

* Binnington can become the first goaltender in franchise history to earn a win in the Stanley Cup Final. Three others have made an appearance, including a pair of Hockey Hall of Famers: Glenn Hall (8 GP: 3.00 GAA, .918 SV%) and Jacques Plante (3 GP: 2.92 GAA, .908 SV%). Ernie Wakely (2 GP) was the other.

* Despite being swept in four games to the powerhouse Canadiens, Hall was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 1968 after leading the expansion Blues through a pair of seven-game series before reaching the Final. It was one of the five times since its inception in 1965 that the trophy has been awarded to the Stanley Cup runner-up. The others: Roger Crozier (1966 w/ DET), Reggie Leach (1976 w/ PHI), Ron Hextall (1987 w/ PHI) and Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2003 w/ ANA).

Stanley Cup Final Captains

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).

* Pietrangelo has collected 13 points in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs (2-11—13 in 19 GP), a franchise record for a defenseman in a single postseason. He surpassed Joe Micheletti (1-11—12 in 1981), Jeff Brown (2-10—12 in 1990 and 3-9—12 in 1991) and Al MacInnis (4-8—12 in 1999).

Hometown Heroes

The Bruins and Blues have been aided by meaningful contributions from players who have returned home to don the NHL jersey of their local team.

* The trio of Massachusetts-born players for the Bruins, East Weymouth’s Charlie Coyle (6-6—12), Charlestown’s Matt Grzelcyk (3-4—7) and Walpole’s Chris Wagner (2-0—2), have all found the score sheet in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and have their sights set on achieving a feat last accomplished 90 years ago. Myles Lane, a defenseman from Melrose, is the only Massachusetts-born player in Bruins history to win a Stanley Cup with the team, doing so as a member of Boston’s first-ever championship team in 1929.

* Their 11 combined goals this postseason are the highest total by Massachusetts-born players in a single playoff year in Bruins playoff history. Additionally, Coyle’s six goals are tied for the highest total by a Massachusetts-born Bruins skater in a single playoff year, joining John Carter in 1990 and Bob Sweeney in 1988.

* St. Louis, Mo. native Pat Maroon (3-4—7 in 19 GP) is skating in his first season with his hometown team after signing with the club as a free agent on July 10. Maroon became the seventh player in franchise history to score a series-clinching goal in overtime during the team’s Game 7 win in the Second Round against Dallas.

Building a Stanley Cup Finalist

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 Krugand 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.

Veterans' Stanley Cup Quest

Jay Bouwmeester (STL) and David Backes (BOS), are set to appear in their first-ever Stanley Cup Final after skating in their 16th and 13th NHL seasons, respectively.

* Since being acquired by the Blues on April 1, 2013, Bouwmeester has competed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in all but one of his seven seasons with the club. Only seven NHL players skated in more regular-season games prior to making their Stanley Cup Final debut: Dave Andreychuk (1,597), Patrick Marleau (1,411), Joe Thornton (1,367), Dale Hunter (1,345), Pat Verbeek (1,225), Steve Thomas (1,191) and Dale Hawerchuk(1,188).

* Backes, a veteran of 928 regular-season games, spent the first 10 seasons of his NHL career with the Blues (727 GP) where he served as captain from 2011-12 to 2015-16 before signing with the Bruins on July 1, 2016. He is set to become the fifth different player in NHL history – and first in 46 years – to skate in 700 or more regular-season games with a franchise before eventually meeting his former team in the Stanley Cup Final. Backes joins Red Kelly (TOR), who faced DET in 1963 and 1964; Doug Harvey (STL), vs. MTL in 1968; Jean-Guy Talbot (STL), vs. MTL in 1968 and 1969; and Ralph Backstrom (CHI), vs. MTL in 1973.

* In addition to Bouwmeester and Backes, each team has another long-time veteran in search of their first Stanley Cup championship: Blues forward Alexander Steen (963 GP over 14 seasons) and Bruins goaltenderJaroslav Halak (489 GP over 13 seasons).

Additional Bruins Notes

* The Bruins are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive year and 10th time in 12 seasons. Boston’s 72 all-time postseason appearances rank second in NHL history, behind only the Montreal Canadiens (83).

* The Bruins registered 107 points during the regular season, their second straight 100-point campaign and 23rd in franchise history. They were aided by an 11-0-2 February, the ninth time Boston has completed a calendar month without a regulation loss (minimum: 8 GP). The only other times in the expansion era (since 1967-68): January 1969 (10-0-4) and November 2011 (12-0-1).

* Boston enters the Stanley Cup Final on a seven-game winning streak, its third-longest such run in a single playoff year behind a 10-0 stretch in 1970 and 9-0 streak in 1972. The Bruins have outscored their opponents 28-9 during their seven-game winning streak, which dates to Game 4 of the Second Round vs. CBJ.

* Boston has led for 49.2 percent of total playing time in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs (516:28 of 1,048:57). The Bruins have trailed for only 9.9 percent of playing time since the start of the Second Round (62:04 of 628:57) – 48:56 vs. CBJ and 13:08 vs. CAR.

* Boston is seeking its seventh Stanley Cup (and first since 2011), which would vault them into sole possession of fourth place in NHL history behind the Canadiens (23), Maple Leafs (13) and Red Wings (11).

* Boston’s roster boasts a combined 68 games of Stanley Cup Final experience and six Stanley Cups (when including all players who appeared in at least one game with the team in 2018-19).

* Five of the six Bruins with a Stanley Cup won with the team in 2011: Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Brad Marchand and Tuukka Rask. The sixth is offseason acquisition Joakim Nordstrom, who won the Cup with the 2015 Blackhawks but did not play in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.

* The Bruins’ top three point-producers from the 2011 Cup run were Krejci, who led all NHL players with 12-11—23 (25 GP); Bergeron (6-14—20 in 23 GP) and Marchand (11-8—19 in 25 GP).

* The line of Bergeron (8-5—13 in 17 GP), David Pastrnak (7-8—15 in 17 GP) and Marchand (7-11—18 in 17 GP) has combined for more than one-third of the Bruins’ total goals this postseason (22 of 57; 38.6%), including six game-winning tallies.

* Bergeron (39-60—99 in 129 GP) is one shy of reaching 100 career postseason points and needs one marker to tie Johnny Bucyk (40-60—100 in 109 GP) for fourth place on the franchise’s all-time playoff goals list. Bergeron leads the League with six power-play goals in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, three shy of the NHL record for most in a postseason set by Mike Bossy (9 PPG in 1981) and equaled 10 years later by Boston’s President & Alternate Governor Cam Neely (9 PPG in 1991).

* Marchand is producing at a point-per-game pace for the second time in as many postseasons (also 2018: 4-13—17 in 12 GP). He can become the ninth player in Bruins franchise history to produce at a point-per-game clip in consecutive playoff years (min. 10 GP) – Neely was one of three players to do so in 1990 and 1991.

* Marchand, who reached the 100-point milestone for the first time during the regular season (36-64—100 in 79 GP), ranks second in overall scoring during the playoffs behind only San Jose’s Logan Couture (14-6—20 in 20 GP).

* Marchand led all rookies in goals, assists and points during the 2011 postseason – sharing the lead with seven points in the Final (5-2—7 in 7 GP) including 2-1—3 in the Cup-clinching Game 7.

* Pastrnak registered 1-2—3 in the Bruins’ series-clinching game against the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. Pastrnak sits five points shy of becoming just the fourth active NHL player to record multiple 20-point postseasons before age 24. The others: Sidney Crosby (2008 and 2009), Evgeni Malkin (2008 and 2009) and Jake Guentzel (2017 and 2018).

* One of three European-trained captains to win the Stanley Cup, Chara now aims to become the fifth player to hoist the Cup at age 42 or older. The only players to do so: JohnnyBower in 1967 (42), Dominik Hasek in 2008 (43), Mark Recchi in 2011 (43) and Chris Chelios in 2008 (46). Rangers coach Lester Patrick won the Stanley Cup at age 44 in 1928 after playing goal in one playoff game. Chara also is set to become the seventh player to appear in the Final at age 42 or older. The only players to do so: Patrick (1 GP in 1928), Bower (3 GP in 1967), Doug Harvey (2 GP in 1968), Johnny Bucyk (1 GP in 1977), Gary Roberts (5 GP in 2008) and Recchi (7 GP in 2011).

* Krejci, who scored the series-clinching goal against Columbus in the Second Round, is tied for third in franchise history with eight career playoff game-winning goals. Krejci has collected 4-10—14 this postseason (17 GP) – including 1-3—4 in three series-clinching wins – to boost his career playoff totals to 36-65—101 (125 GP). He sits one postseason point shy of tying Phil Esposito (46-56—102 in 71 GP) for second place in the franchise's all-time list.

* Bruce Cassidy became the 15th head coach in NHL history to record at least 100 points in each of his first two full seasons with a team and the third to do so with the Bruins (also Tom Johnson: 1970-71 and 1971-72; Mike Milbury: 1989-90 and 1990-91). Since Cassidy made his debut behind the Bruins’ bench on Feb. 9, 2017, Boston ranks second in the NHL in both regular-season wins (117) and points (256).

Additional Blues Notes

* The Blues, who ranked last in the overall standings as recently as Jan. 2 when the team was 45 percent into its 2018-19 campaign (15-18-4, 34 points), look to continue a comeback season unlike any other in NHL history as they pursue the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. St. Louis is the only team in the expansion era (1967-68) to have been in last place in the overall League standings at any point after its 30th game of the season and rebound to make the Stanley Cup Final.

* The Blues went 30-10-5 (65 points) from Jan. 1 to the end of the regular season, accumulating the most points among all teams in that span. Among the highlights: a franchise-record 11-game win streak from Jan. 23 – Feb. 19 and a 12-1-1 record in February, tying a franchise mark for wins in a calendar month (12-3-0 in April 2013).

* The Blues are the 10th team in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final after ranking 12th place or lower at the end of the regular season. Six of those instances have come since 2006, including three under the current playoff format.

* St. Louis is competing in the postseason for the seventh time in the last eight years (since 2011-12). Owners of the third-longest playoff streak in NHL history (25 years, 1979-80 through 2003-04), the Blues have the seventh-most playoff appearances in NHL history (42) and the most among non-Original Six teams, ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers (39), Pittsburgh Penguins (33), Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars (31) and Los Angeles Kings (30).

* The Blues clinched the Western Conference Final on home ice at Enterprise Center for the third time in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, also doing so against the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars in the First and Second Rounds, respectively. Only two teams in NHL history have clinched four series at home in a playoff year: the 1988 Edmonton Oilers and 2007 Anaheim Ducks.

* St. Louis’ roster has a combined 10 games of Stanley Cup Final experience and two Stanley Cups. David Perron is playing in his second straight Stanley Cup Final, following a five-game loss with the Golden Knights last year (1-1—2 in 4 GP). Center Jordan Nolan, who has not played in a game this postseason, captured two Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings (in 2012 and 2014).

* St. Louis is the seventh team in the last 35 years to enter the pinnacle series with its players accounting for 10 or fewer games of Stanley Cup Final experience, joining Philadelphia in 1985 (6 GP), Edmonton in 2006 (7 GP), Ottawa in 2007 (7 GP in 2007), Vancouver in 2011 (7 GP), San Jose in 2016 (10 GP) and Nashville in 2017 (5 GP).

* Vladimir Tarasenko has collected a point in six consecutive contests en route to leading the Blues offensively in the Western Conference Final (3-5—8 in 6 GP) – finding the score sheet in each game. His six-game point streak is tied for the fourth-longest in team history, with Tony Currie posting a franchise-best nine-game run during the 1981 postseason (4-12—16 in 9 GP).

* After scoring 11 times during the regular season (69 GP), left wing Jaden Schwartz tops the Blues with 12 goals in 19 contests during the playoffs. The single-year franchise record stands at 13, achieved by Brett Hullin 1990 (12 GP). Schwartz has become the third player in NHL history to reach the 10-goal mark in the regular season and eclipse his goal total in the ensuing Stanley Cup Playoffs, joining Claude Lemieux (1996-97: 11 G in RS, 13 G in SCP) and Marian Gaborik (2013-14: 11 G in RS, 14 G in SCP).

* Acquired by the Blues on July 1, Ryan O’Reilly has registered 3-11—14 this postseason (19 GP) – eight of which have come on the road (3-5—8 in 9 GP). Two points in Boston would allow O’Reilly to follow Schwartz (7-4–11 in 2019) as the sixth player in Blues history to record 10 road points in a postseason; the others areDoug Gilmour (9-6–15 in 1986), Bernie Federko (2-9–11 in 1986), Rod Brind’Amour (4-6–10 in 1990) andRobby Fabbri (2-8–10 in 2016).

* Fellow offseason acquisitions David Perron (6-7—13 in 19 GP) and Tyler Bozak (5-5—10 in 19 GP) have also made noteworthy contributions this postseason, with both establishing career highs for goals and points in a playoff year.

* Perron opened the scoring 92 seconds into Game 6 vs. SJS, marking the second time the Blues did so in the Conference Finals after Ivan Barbashev found the back of the net 35 seconds into Game 4. The Blues have scored within two minutes of the opening puck drop against all three playoff opponents to date, posting a 5-0 record in those games (also Game 6 in R1 vs. WPG and Games 3 and 6 of R2 vs. DAL).

* Blues rookie Robert Thomas can become the ninth different teenager in NHL history to score a goal in the Stanley Cup Final – a feat last achieved 35 years ago by Pat LaFontaine for the Islanders in Game 5 of the 1984 Final. Only three teenagers have netted the winning tally in a Final game.

* The line of Oskar Sundqvist (2-1—3 in 6 GP), Ivan Barbashev (2-1—3 in 6 GP) and Alexander Steen (1-1—2 in 6 GP) scored in each of the final five games of the Western Conference Final, combining for almost a quarter of the Blues’ goals in the series (5 of 23; 21.7%).

* Named head coach on Nov. 19 with the Blues in 30th place in the NHL (7-9-3), Craig Berube helped the team surge to a third-place finish in the Central Division by going 38-19-6 the rest of the way. Berube, voted a finalist for the 2018-19 Jack Adams Award, is the 11th head coach in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final after taking over midseason. Four of the past five have gone on to win the Stanley Cup: Mike Sullivan(2016 w/ PIT), Darryl Sutter (2012 w/ LAK), Dan Bylsma (2009 w/ PIT) and Larry Robinson (2000 w/ NJD). Robinson currently serves as a Blues consultant/ assistant coach.

Tale of the Tape

* A closer look at how the Bruins and Blues match up (minimum one GP in 2018-19, regular season or playoffs):

Average Height

BOS: 72.7”, STL: 73.4”

Average Weight

BOS: 197.4 lbs., STL: 203.0 lbs.

Birthplaces

BOS: USA (18), Canada (7), Sweden (4), Czech Republic (3), Slovakia (3), Finland (2).

STL: Canada (21), USA (5), Russia (3), Sweden (2), Czech Republic (1).

Did You Know

Depth scoring has guided each finalist through the 2019 postseason, with a combined 37 players scoring at least one goal for the Bruins (19) and Blues (18) thus far. This marks the second Stanley Cup Final in League history between two teams with as many combined unique goal scorers; the other instance occurred in 1987, when Philadelphia and Edmonton faced off with 20 and 18, respectively.