Da Bum's 2018 NHL Picks/News/Trends/Best Bets - Thru The Stanley Cup !

[StarDust Bum]

Sunday’s 6-pack

Updated Week 1 odds for the NFL:

— Tennessee @ Cleveland (-5.5, 45.5)

— LA Rams (-3, 51) @ Carolina

— Detroit (-1.5, 48.5) @ Arizona

— Cincinnati @ Seattle (-9, 43.5)

— Indianapolis @ LA Chargers (-3, 48)

— NY Giants @ Dallas (-7.5, 46.5)

Quote of the Day
“He has no idea how much milk costs. He’s like, ‘What is that, about 20 dollars?’ I’m like, ‘What kind of goat’s blood milk are you drinking?’ No! It’s… like what?”
Gabrielle Union, talking about her Dwyane Wade (her husband) doesn’t know much about the price of normal groceries

Sunday’s quiz
Michael Jordan was the 3rd pick in the 1984 NBA Draft; Hakeem Olajuwon was the first pick. Who was the second pick?

Saturday’s quiz
There are nine teams are in the Canadian Football League.

Friday’s quiz
WNBA teams play 34 regular season games each season.

*****************************

Sunday’s List of 13: Wrapping up a sports Saturday…….

13) Was watching a ballgame the other day; Pittsburgh shifted against a lefty hitter, putting the 3B where the SS usually is, which confuses me.

Why not just leave the SS where he is supposed to be, and put the 3B behind 2B? Having the rangier fielder as the only guy on the left side seems smarter.

As it was, Colorado dunked a pop-up for a hit into short left-field, because 3B Colin Moran does not have great range, and Melky Cabrera was playing LF and he has virtually no range.

Different teams approach shifts differently, which makes it interesting.

12) Minnesota Twins hit 101 homers in their first 50 games, joining the ’99 Mariners as the only teams to homer 100+ times in their first 50 games of a season.

11) Major league baseball teams hit 59 homers in 14 games Friday, 2nd-most in a single day in baseball history, trailing only the 62 homers hit on July 2, 2002- there were 16 games played then, with a doubleheader in Boston that day.

10) Wrigley Field organist Gary Pressy worked his 2,633rd consecutive game Saturday; that means he hasn’t missed a home game since sometime in 1987- very impressive.

9) Went to an AAU tournament Saturday, first time I’ve done that in a couple years; the Gym Rat Challenge is a Memorial Day weekend tradition here in Albany– it is very well organized, spread out all over the Albany/Troy/Saratoga area.

They have three courts in the Times Union Center in downtown Albany, a 15,000-seat arena that is way too big for an event like this, but kids must enjoy playing there. Teams from all over the northeast come to the Gym Rat— good chance for kids to play against solid competition.

8) Astros 4, Red Sox 3— Boston starter David Price left this game after three batters with flu-like symptoms. Correa walked it off with a single in bottom of 9th.

7) College basketball transfer portal:
— Middle Tennessee State poaches Jalen Jordan from St Francis NY.

6) Diamondbacks 10, Giants 1— Arizona outscored San Francisco the last two days by combined score of 28-6. Going to be a rough summer for the Giants.

5) Mets 5 Tigers 4 (13)— Both teams ran out of position players, used a starting pitcher as a pinch-runner, graphic evidence that baseball is more interesting without the DH.

4) Phillies sent OF Nick Williams down to AAA earlier this week; he took the maximum amount of time to report, then played one game (went 2-5) and was given the weekend off by the Phillies to attend his girlfriend’s college graduation. I wish I was making this up.

Two years ago, Williams hit .288 with 12 homers in 83 games for the Phillies, but when the new regime took over last year, Williams’ star dimmed noticeably, and with Harper/McCutchen now in the Phils’ outfield, Williams is the odd man out.

I’m assuming he wants to be traded, but taking a weekend off to attend your girlfriend’s college graduation raises red flags about how much you care about playing, which makes it more difficult for you to be traded.

3) Baseball stuff:
— Angels put P Matt Harvey (back) on the IL.
— White Sox put C Welington Castillo on the 7-day concussion list.
— Pirates put P Chris Stratton on the IL.
— Astros put OF George Springer (hamstring) on IL.

2) Raptors 100, Bucks 94— Toronto advances to NBA Finals for first time, by sweeping last four games of series after losing Games 1-2 in Milwaukee.

1) Thoughts/prayers to Wisconsin assistant basketball coach Howard Moore, whose family was involved in a deadly car accident Saturday morning; coach Moore lost his wife and his daughter- he and his son are fighting for their lives. We wish them well.

[StarDust Bum]

Coaches Cassidy, Berube duel in Cup final
May 25, 2019
By The Associated Press

Bruce Cassidy has come a long way from writing his first NHL practice plan on a napkin.

Craig Berube hasn't changed a bit from the moment he was fired from his first NHL head coaching job.

Two roads diverged in a crazy world of hockey and brought them to this Stanley Cup Final. Cassidy has guided the Boston Bruins to this point a decade and a half after a disastrous tenure in Washington. Berube took the St. Louis Blues from worst to their first final since 1970 several years after a short stint in Philadelphia.

One of them will become the sixth coach in 12 years to lift the Cup in his second stop as NHL head coach and reward an organization and countless people for giving him another chance.

''The guys that are good in this business, they learn a lot along the way and just continue to improve,'' said Vegas general manager George McPhee, who hired Cassidy with Washington in 2002, had Berube as a player and then interviewed him for the Capitals' coaching job in 2013.

''In some ways it's a shame that these guys didn't get opportunities earlier. But they continue to coach because they're good at it and they get opportunities at the American (Hockey) League and then get opportunities at the NHL because they deserve it.''

Cassidy's former Capitals players couldn't be sure he deserved this after benching respected veteran defenseman Calle Johansson in his last game with the team in 2003. Goaltender Olie Kolzig said Cassidy had ''a lack of professionalism on and off the ice'' at the time, which ultimately led to his firing 25 games into his second season.

McPhee wonders aloud now if he put Cassidy in a difficult spot coaching a veteran team featuring established star Jaromir Jagr. Looking back, Kolzig believes Cassidy actually did a fairly good job his first season, but the now 54-year-old coach sees some of his shortcomings in the rearview mirror.

''I was young. I had really no NHL experience,'' Cassidy said. ''So you walk into an NHL locker room and there's still a little bit of awe in that, `Oh, there's Jagr, there's so many of these guys that've been around.' So it probably took me a while to just walk in there and say `This is what we're doing.'''

Nicknamed ''Butch'' after the infamous outlaw, Cassidy rehabbed his reputation with a season as a Chicago Blackhawks assistant, two in junior and then an eight-year run as an assistant and head coach with the Bruins top AHL affiliate in Providence. By the time he got back to an NHL organization with the Bruins, general manager Don Sweeney noticed Cassidy has ''evolved a lot'' in his confidence, and the growth goes beyond that.

''He's been through the wringer and put his time in and obviously grew as a coach and a human being,'' said Jim Dowd, who played for Chicago when Cassidy was an assistant. ''You don't get to the Stanley Cup finals without doing that. That was just a blip in the road, but I'm sure he learned a ton from that Washington experience.''

Outside factors - such as Cassidy dealing with a rough divorce - might also have adversely affected his time with Washington. Kolzig is glad Cassidy has his life in order now, and he and McPhee are thrilled to see him at the summit of hockey.

''Most guys go through what he went through and you'd never hear from them again,'' Kolzig said. ''He went back and paid his dues and learned from his mistakes and applied it to the rest of his career. Now he's on the verge of winning a Cup.''

To do so, Cassidy's Bruins have to go through Berube's Blues, who responded mightily after he succeeded fired coach Mike Yeo on Nov. 19. Before winning 29 of their final 43 games to become the seventh team since 1967 to make the playoffs from last in the league after New Year's Day, they lost 11 of Berube's first 20 games as interim replacement.

Former teammate and close friend Rick Tocchet will never forget Berube's reaction over a couple postgame beers following a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of his Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 1.

''It wasn't like, `What did I get myself into?' or `We have no chance to win.' It was like he had a plan,'' said Tocchet, who is now in his second NHL head-coaching job. ''Even though they were hitting rock bottom, we just beat them 6-1, he was really decisive what he knew he had to do. I could tell that this guy's got it handled. It wasn't like a deer in the headlights look.''

Nicknamed ''Chief'' for his First Nations heritage, Berube has never had that look - from his career of more than 1,000 games and 3,000 penalty minutes as a team-first role player to his first head job with Philadelphia when he took over three games into the 2013-14 season.

Another former teammate and close friend, Keith Jones, remembers beer and chicken wing nights on the road with Berube and Dale Hunter during their playing days. They would watch and talk about hockey and subconsciously prepare to stay in the game after hanging up their skates.

Jones said Ron Hextall's worst move as Flyers GM was firing Berube after his first full season because it looked as if he had what it took behind the bench.

''I can't tell you how impressed I was on his presence behind the bench, his quick eye and understanding which players were going and which were not,'' Jones said. ''I thought he was terrific in that regard and having a feel for players that had jump in their legs and maybe using them more effectively in that particular game. I thought he was great in just the chess match that goes on with being a head coach. Rarely did I sit upstairs and watch a game and think that he missed something.''

Flyers players respected Berube's no-nonsense attitude and simple approach of playing smart, defending well and working as a team.

''A lot of coaches will kind of give you the runaround when you're not getting ice time,'' said Scott Hartnell, who played for Berube's Flyers teams. ''Where `Chief' is very honest and he'll let you know exactly what you're doing wrong and how to fix it and you'll be rewarded with ice time afterwards. It's a very straightforward approach, which I think a lot of players could learn something about that.''

Berube learned some things too even while insisting he hasn't changed anything about being a coach from his first job to his second.

''I had a lot of experience being a head coach in the minors at that point when I was given a job in Philadelphia as the Flyers head coach, so I was pretty comfortable with my coaching and my abilities,'' Berube said. ''You learn things and you become a better coach as you go along just from learning things.''

Flyers President Paul Holmgren, who initially hired Berube, recommended to Blues GM Doug Armstrong that he bring him on for some scouting, and it eventually led to an AHL job.

''(That) got Craig back into it at a lower level and he could put in play some of the things he'd learned along the way and some of the new things that he maybe realized he needed to get better at,'' Holmgren said.

Armstrong didn't know Berube before but elevated him throughout St. Louis' organization and hopes to talk after the series about a long-term deal. Cassidy, in his second full Bruins season, is here because of what he has changed, but Berube is here because of what he hasn't.

''He's been very consistent since the day I met him,'' Armstrong said. ''Craig has opened my eyes to is it's still a game, it's still hockey and don't try and reinvent the wheel. The way he treats the players I think is demanding but respectful - solid communication but not overboard and high-level accountability.''

[StarDust Bum]

Blues can exorcise demons after 50 years
May 25, 2019
By The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) Stanley Jackson and buddy Steven Crow can be excused if they tend to watch their beloved St. Louis Blues with their hands over their eyes, just waiting for the next thing to go wrong.

So when the Blues beat the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 to earn their first berth in the Stanley Cup Final since 1970, a rematch with the Boston Bruins 49 years in the making, the two old friends couldn't hold back.

''We were like two 9-year-olds,'' Jackson, 52, said. ''We were hugging and jumping. We were crying like babies.''

There's a lot of that going around in St. Louis. After all, few sports fans anywhere have suffered like Blues fans.

The franchise has shown a remarkable ability to tease but ultimately disappoint - missing the playoffs just nine times but never winning the Cup. Management lost three coaches who went on to win 16 Stanley Cup championships. The Blues would have abandoned St. Louis in the 1980s but the new destination was a Canadian outpost so obscure the NHL wouldn't allow it.

It's been a wild ride, and Susan Kelly has had a front-row seat.

Kelly, a 55-year-old lawyer, is the daughter of Dan Kelly, the legendary hockey broadcaster who called Blues games until his death in 1989. She inherited his love for the sport and the team, attending every home game with her 82-year-old mom. In fact, Kelly pulled out of an African safari so she won't miss the final that starts Monday in Boston.

''It was a no-brainer,'' Kelly said. ''I bought the trip insurance just for this reason.''

Despite their checkered past, the Blues have a rabid, devoted fan base, even as they share a city with baseball's beloved and storied Cardinals. Devotion to the hockey team only grew in 2016 when the NFL's Rams bolted for Los Angeles. Now, it's not uncommon for Cardinals stars such as Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright to show up at a Blues game.

The Blues' best run of success came right off the bat. The NHL doubled in size to 12 teams in 1967 and put all six expansion teams in one division, guaranteeing one of them would reach the Stanley Cup Final.

St. Louis loaded the roster with aging veterans, including eventual Hall-of-Fame goaltenders Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante, and it worked - kind of: The Blues made the final their first three seasons but were swept every time - by Montreal in 1968 and 1969 and by the Bruins in 1970, where Bobby Orr's series-winning overtime goal came just after he was tripped by St. Louis' Noel Picard, resulting in the iconic photo of Orr seemingly flying through the air.

Maybe that trip was bad karma - until now, the Blues hadn't come close to returning to the final, a fact made even more remarkable because they're almost always in the playoffs, including 25 straight seasons starting in 1979.

So star-crossed is the franchise that what is widely considered the greatest game in Blues history was a prelude to disappointment. Dubbed the ''Monday Night Miracle,'' the Blues trailed Calgary 5-2 with 12 minutes to play in Game 6 of the 1986 Western Conference final, tied it with a frantic rally and won it on Doug Wickenheiser's goal 7:30 into overtime.

Naturally, they lost Game 7.

Adding to the angst for fans is what could have been. The Blues were eliminated from the playoffs one year despite having both Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull on the team. Hull, Brendan Shanahan and T.J. Oshie are among countless stars who became champions after leaving St. Louis.

The Blues also gave up too soon on some of the best coaches in NHL history. Scotty Bowman won a combined nine Stanley Cup titles with Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit after he left St. Louis in a dispute with management in 1971. Al Arbour began his coaching career in St. Louis before winning four straight titles with the New York Islanders. Joel Quenneville won three championships with the rival Chicago Blackhawks after he was fired by the Blues.

Then again, St. Louis is lucky to have a team at all. The Blues have rarely turned a profit and in 1983 were all but sold to an ownership group that would have moved them to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The NHL Board of Governors rejected the sale and had to briefly take control of the franchise until finding a buyer.

Bowman, who was the Blues' coach when they went to the Cup Final in 1968, 1969 and 1970, met his wife in St. Louis when she was working as a nurse there. He coached current Blues assistant Larry Robinson and feels a connection to the team to this day.

This season started out to be just another in a long line of disappointments. Despite several offseason acquisitions, the Blues were awful. Players fought in practice. Coach Mike Yeo was fired and replaced by assistant Craig Berube. By Jan. 3, St. Louis had the worst record in the NHL. Two days later, the Blues called up an unheralded goalie, 25-year-old Jordan Binnington. He won in a shutout in his first start and the turnaround was on.

St. Louis won a franchise-record 11 straight games and the Blues went from a team considering trading stars like Vladimir Tarasenko to a contender.

Kelly said she ran into Hull after the clinching game against San Jose. He hugged her and began to cry, she recalled.

She understood.

''I, along with this city, have been waiting our whole lives for this,'' Kelly said.

[StarDust Bum]

Bruins' veteran quintet could be key
May 24, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) When the Boston Bruins take the ice against the St. Louis Blues, they will do it with a core group of veterans who know what it's like to hoist the Stanley Cup - and have it slip from their fingers.

Patrice Bergeron can still remember the instant euphoria and accompanying adoration from across New England that came after the Bruins outlasted the Vancouver Canucks in seven games to win the Cup in 2011.

He just as easily recalls the emptiness in 2013 when the Bruins lost the final in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks.

''I think it makes you appreciate and makes you understand how hard it is to get to this point,'' Bergeron said.

He is one of five current Bruins that were on both of those teams, along with Brad Marchand, Tuukka Rask, David Krejci and Zdeno Chara. Apart from Chara, who was 33 in 2011, Bergeron, Krejci, Marchand and Rask were all in their 20s during both runs. Defenseman Torey Krug was as a member of the `13 team that came up short, arriving the season after Boston won it in 2011.

Nine years later Chara is now 42 and the 20-somethings are now grizzled NHL veterans as they prepare to take on the Blues.

It's cast them all in the leadership role for another youthful and hungry Bruins team, built with many players about to experience this stage for the first time with Game 1 coming up Monday night.

It's a position they have all willingly accepted.

Chara said this season has been a great teaching tool for them.

''It takes a lot to just get into the playoffs,'' Chara said. ''We saw a lot of our games went to Game 7. First round. Second round. You have to realize how special it is to be in the final and what it takes. At the same time, you haven't accomplished anything. You haven't won anything.''

St. Louis coach Craig Berube knows the Bruins are deep and the veteran players are a key part of the team.

''Chara is still a good player, he's a force out there, a big guy and he's difficult to play against,'' Berube said. ''Overall, their team's a skilled and fast team and their goalie has played extremely well so far in the playoffs.''

Boston coach Bruce Cassidy, who is in his second season leading the B's. He struggled in his first go-around as a head coach in Washington, going 47-47-9 over two seasons from 2002 to 2004.

The past two seasons in Boston, Cassidy said, he has gone from being apprehensive about speaking up around his best players to setting an agenda and then leaning on his veterans in the locker room to help implement it.

''I think this leadership group is second to none,'' Cassidy said. ''I don't know if I'll ever have - wherever this career takes me - a group like this to work with. I said that since probably the second week of our job here. These guys are fantastic, and they sure make a coach's job a lot easier.''

Though he has a reputation of letting his anger get the best of him at times, Marchand said he's going into his third Cup final with Boston as even-keeled as ever.

''I think when you're part of a team like that you expect it to last a long time,'' he said. ''You don't realize how one change in a team can really drastically affect how things play out. One player change. One injury. One call. You don't realize what it takes to get back to the finals and how fortunate you are to get there.

''And so this time around I think I'm more appreciative of being here and at the same time more calm, I guess, in a way.''

[StarDust Bum]

Bruins' Backes must face Blues buddies
May 23, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) David Backes waited his entire career to play for the Stanley Cup, and now he's going to have to do it against some of his best friends in hockey.

The former St. Louis captain will face his old team with the NHL title on the line, starting Monday night when the Blues and Bruins open the final in Boston. It's not the ideal situation for the 35-year-old Backes, but after waiting 13 seasons to get to this point, he'll take it.

''It's a binary decision now. It's us or them. One of us is going to win the Cup,'' he said this week after the Blues beat San Jose in the West final.

''That's the position you'd want to be in at the beginning of the year,'' Backes said. ''I wish those guys well up until this point, but now it's all about us and winning this thing. All our thoughts and all our efforts are in this room.''

Backes was an all-star in 2011 and a leader on the Blues who finished in the top seven of the Selke Award voting for five straight seasons before signing a five-year, $30 million contract with Boston in 2016. St. Louis feared Backes would be a financial burden by the end of the deal.

Backes has indeed slowed, and coach Bruce Cassidy scratched him for three games against Toronto in the first round and twice more against Columbus.

But since he returned to the lineup, the Bruins have won seven in a row to reach the final for the third time since 2011.

Cassidy said Backes' leadership and experience were factors in getting back in the lineup. And now that the team has advanced, winning a Cup for Backes has become a motivational cause in the locker room.

''He's a very popular guy on the team,'' Cassidy said. ''So the guys that won one want to win again, obviously, but there's a little extra pull for sure for a guy like David. He's been a captain in this league, he came to the Bruins with the feeling he'll have an opportunity to win a Cup, and here we are.''

And the Blues will be trying just as hard to prevent it.

''I don't think anybody thinks about personalities,'' St. Louis forward Vladimir Tarasenko said. ''Yeah, we spent a lot of time together, but on the ice there is no friends. We are not friends. It's just going to be a hard final.''

Blues defenseman and team captain Alex Pietrangelo said he learned a lot from Backes during their six-plus seasons together. Their families have also become close.

But he has played against Backes in the Olympics and the NHL regular season, so it's not unfamiliar territory.

''I don't want to dwell on this too much. We've got a bigger thing to deal with,'' he said. ''I sent him a text yesterday to say, `Thanks, and we'll be friends again in two weeks.' And I never got a message back. I guess they already started.''

Backes said Pietrangelo is one of his best friends. Or at least he will be again when this is all over.

''I told him I'm going to love him now, I'm going to love him afterward, but I'm going to hate him for the next three weeks. That's a mutual decision,'' Backes said. ''We'll patch up whatever we need to patch up afterward, but it's all about what's in this room, what our goal is and what we need to do to win these games.''

For Backes, part of that job is making sure that the younger Bruins don't waste their chance. A handful of players got their name on the Stanley Cup in 2011 - including Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Brad Marchand - and a couple more were around when the team returned to the final two years later.

But for the rest, Backes is a living reminder that the opportunity doesn't necessarily come around too often.

''We're blessed to be in this position, and each and every guy should take this as potentially maybe their only time,'' he said. ''I'm trying to remind those young guys, `I appreciate you thinking about me, but think of yourself as well, and think of the guy to your left and right.'

''Because you could be 21 and think the finals are a common thing every other year, in your second year,'' he said. ''But this is a rarity and we need to take the opportunity and make the most of it.''

[StarDust Bum]

Stanley Cup - Top Wager
May 23, 2019
By Bookmaker

by Kyle Markus

Stanley Cup Finals Preview - Boston Bruins vs. St. Louis Blues

The Boston Bruins are peaking at the right time, as they head into the Stanley Cup Finals fresh off a decisive sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals. They need only one more series victory to be crowned the champions, but they are facing a formidable foe in the St. Louis Blues.

The Blues have needed to scratch and claw every step of the way but closed out their series against the San Jose Sharks in six games and now turn their attention toward the Bruins. Boston gets the home ice advantage in this series and will be the favorite, but St. Louis looked good last time out and feels like it has enough talent to pull off the upset.

This is shaping up to be an intriguing Stanley Cup Finals in NHL odds.

The Stanley Cup Finals will feature the Boston Bruins vs. the St. Louis Blues beginning with Game 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday, May 27th, 2019. The Bruins will host the matchup at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts and it will be nationally televised on NBC.

We'll have NHL odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals.

Odds Analysis

The Boston Bruins are the -170 favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Boston has the benefit of the home ice advantage and has been the better team this season. The Blues are listed at +148 to pull off the upset and hoist the hardware.

The Bruins are at home for Game 1 and have been listed as the -165 favorite to take an early series lead, while the Blues come in as the slight +144 underdog to pull the upset. The scoring total has been placed at 5.5 goals, with the “under” the -135 favorite and the “over” the +115 underdog in NHL gambling.

Key Stat

10. That’s the number of goals the Blues were able to accumulate in the final two games of the Western Conference Finals as they got past the Sharks. St. Louis won Game 5 by a score of 5-0 and Game 6 by a score of 5-1. Left winger Jaden Schwartz had three goals in Game 5 for the Blues while Vladimir Tarasenko scored one goal apiece in each of those games.

While that goal explosion is promising, Boston was just as good at finding the net against Carolina. The Bruins scored 17 goals in the four-game sweep, including five in Game 1 and six more in Game 2. Both teams have pretty good defenses, so high-scoring contests may not be as likely in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Player To Watch

Brad Marchand -- The Bruins star will aim to have a big series to lift his team to the championship. Marchand has 18 points in 17 playoff games, with seven goals and 11 assists. The left winger’s goal total is second on the team behind only Patrice Bergeron.

Marchand finished the regular season with 100 points and seems to always be in the middle of scoring chances for Boston. The Blues must keep an eye on him at all times as Marchand is super creative and can either set himself up for scoring chances or find his teammates.

Free NHL ATS Picks

The Blues are certainly battle-tested, as they went to either six or seven games in each of the three series before this one. However, the Bruins are the more talented team and are playing extremely well. The NHL playoffs can be a crapshoot, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see St. Louis pull off the upset.

However, Boston is the pick in a series that could go back and forth quite a bit in NHL gambling.

NHL Pick: Boston Bruins to defeat St. Louis Blues in seven games in the Stanley Cup Finals

[StarDust Bum]

Marchand misses Bruins' last practice
May 26, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) When the NHL altered its rules with an eye toward speed and skill, this is not the Stanley Cup Final it had in mind.

Hockey is becoming less of a big man's game, offense is up and it's faster than ever. Then there's the big and tough St. Louis Blues facing off against the bigger and tougher Boston Bruins in the final that shows size still matters in the playoffs.

''They are physical, we'll be physical,'' Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Sunday. ''I don't think we shy away from that type of game.''

The past decade-plus has been a study in the NHL getting younger and quicker, and previous champions like Chicago in 2013 and 2015 and Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017 exemplified that. The 2019 champion will show there are still many kinds of blueprints for winning, though skill is still needed along with size and physicality.

When the puck drops on Game 1 Monday night, the bruises will begin in what should be a throwback series with the Stanley Cup on the line.

''At this point you're going to get both teams coming out of the gates laying their hits,'' big Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo said. ''It's going to be a heavy series. It's hard to say how much physicality will be going both ways. I'm sure guys will be looking to get their licks in.''

Boston and St. Louis don't lack high-end skill, from goaltenders Tuukka Rask and Jordan Binnington to scorers Brad Marchand and Vladimir Tarasenko. They do resemble their coaches - Cassidy, who has become a mature, straightforward communicator and Craig Berube, a no-nonsense, team-first guy who has turned the Blues into a north-south, no frills team.

These teams are in many ways mirror images of each other based on their gritty styles and how tough they are to crack.

''The two hardest, heaviest teams are in the final,'' San Jose Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said after his team was eliminated by the Blues in the Western Conference final. ''Everybody talks about skill and speed, there's room for all these small players. There is a room for that. But I don't think it's an accident.''

It's certainly no accident that the Bruins and Blues like to make opponents black and blue. Bruins forward Danton Heinen said physicality is what he and his teammates have tried to deliver all year long and will continue to, but the Blues figured out last round that they need to be more selective about dishing out punishment.

''You can't just run around out there,'' St. Louis forward Oskar Sundqvist said. ''When you're going to hit, you need to hit with a purpose.''

The purpose now is to lift hockey's hallowed trophy. After Bruins center Patrice Bergeron played the 2013 final with broken ribs and a punctured lung, there's not much guys won't do this time of year at their own expense.

''This is the Stanley Cup. This is what everyone plays for,'' Boston forward Jake DeBrusk said. ''It's going to be fun, physical and pretty intense, so hopefully the body holds up for everybody here.''

GOALIE DUEL

With a league-best 1.42 goals-against average and .942 save percentage, Rask is the front-runner to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Rask is in his second final as a starter after being on the Boston team that lost to Chicago in six games in 2015.

''It's a team sport,'' Rask said. ''Everybody has to pull their load. That's the only way you can win.''

All the Blues is win, win, win no matter what since Binnington made his first NHL start in early January. They won 30 of their final 45 games to get into the playoffs, and Binnington has a 2.36 GAA and .914 save percentage in the playoffs.

No goalie has won the Conn Smythe since Jonathan Quick with Los Angeles in 2012.

CUP EXPERIENCE DISPARITY

The Bruins and Blues play similar styles yet have very different levels of winning this time of year.

Five Boston players - Rask, captain Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci - are still around from the 2011 Cup-winning Bruins, and Joakim Nordstrom won in 2015 with the Blackhawks. St. Louis has two players with Cup rings, though even that should have an asterisk because Jordan Nolan (2012 and 2014 Kings) hasn't played since January and Oskar Sundqvist (2016 Penguins) only skated 20 regular-season and playoff games with Pittsburgh that year.

''Our guys that have been there, that have won a Cup, have lost a Cup, that should give us an edge,'' Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.

Of course, a year ago the Washington Capitals had only one Stanley Cup winner in Brooks Orpik before Alex Ovechkin lifted it in Las Vegas. Armstrong is banking on his players earning their experience in the final.

''Hopefully a year from now we'll say, geez, St. Louis has got a lot of championship experience,'' Armstrong said.

MAY SWEEPS

To say this has been a weird playoffs would be the understatement of the league's 101-year history. Top seeds Tampa Bay and Calgary were knocked out in the first round along with fellow division winners Washington and Nashville, and the Lightning were actually swept by Columbus.

But there has also been a strange pattern with sweeping teams that the Bruins hope is a coincidence and not a trend related to too much time off. The New York Islanders swept Pittsburgh in the first round, then got swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. Carolina? Yeah, swept in the Eastern Conference final by the Bruins.

Boston also beat Columbus after the Blue Jackets swept the Lightning, making teams that won their previous series four games to none a combined 0-3 so far.

''It's something that naturally you're going to think about a little bit,'' DeBrusk said.

INJURY WATCH

Attrition to the San Jose Sharks helped St. Louis get through West final, and despite their physicality, the Blues and Bruins have been fairly fortunate when it comes to injuries this postseason. St. Louis defenseman Vince Dunn missed the past three games with an upper-body injury but returned to practice wearing a full shield over his face, and forward Robert Thomas skated Saturday after leaving early in the third period West final clincher Tuesday.

Dunn is unlikely to play in Game 1 but could be available later in the series. Thomas is expected to play despite not practicing Sunday.

The Bruins have had a week and a half off to heal up, which is good news for captain Zdeno Chara, who was injured and didn't play in Game 4 of the East final. They got a bit of a scare when Marchand jammed his left hand after bumping into teammate Connor Clifton during an intrasquad scrimmage to stay sharp during the long layoff.

Marchand missed practice Sunday, but coach Bruce Cassidy said it was for maintenance and expects Boston's leading scorer to be good to go for Game 1.

[StarDust Bum]

The Latest: Bruins' Cassidy says Marchand will play Game 1
May 26, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) The Latest on media day at the Stanley Cup Final (all times Eastern):

3:45 p.m.

The biggest star at Stanley Cup Final media day doesn't play for the Boston Bruins or St. Louis Blues. He's 18-month old ''Today'' show dog Sunny, who roamed the interview room the day before the Cup Final begins, interacting with players in collaboration with NBC Sports and the Guide Dog Foundation.

Sunny brought cards with questions on them to players to read and got plenty of pets and kibble out of the deal. When he jumped up and did a trick with Robert Thomas, the Blues forward said, ''This made my day,'' and a lot of other players seemed to enjoy having a four-legged reporter - complete with his own media credential - asking them questions.

It also had a real-life benefit.

''He is learning to be a guide dog through the Guide Dog Foundation, and he needs to be cool, calm and collected in every setting possible,'' said Guide Dog Foundation public relations manager Allison Storck, who was also among Sunny's handlers Sunday. ''Just like people, dogs do the best work when they feel safe and secure and they're not concerned. So coming to these environments and getting to adapt and adjust is really great practice for when he gets matched with somebody who's blind or visually impaired. He's going to be able to have his top focus and be able to do his best work because he's going to be so used to everything.''

The idea came from NBC Sports' marketing department after spotting Sunny at a New York Islanders game. The Blues are among the NHL teams with dogs who are also being trained for service.

Storck said Cup Final media day was a great training opportunity for Sunny's future job.

''Every time he goes to interact with a player, he's practicing a service dog skill,'' she said. ''So he's taking an item, going to deliver it and then staying until I call him back. So great training and great excitement.''

---

1:15 p.m.

St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn skated with teammates during practice in preparation for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, but his status is still uncertain.

Dunn practiced in a full face shield for the second consecutive day. He did not do rushes on any of the top three defensive pairings, an indication he might miss a fourth game in a row with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Forward Robert Thomas, who was injured in Game 6 of the Western Conference final Tuesday and declared fine by coach Craig Berube, was not on the ice for practice Sunday.

Game 1 of the final is Monday night.

---

11:55 a.m.

Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy says Brad Marchand took a maintenance day off from practice and is good to go for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday against the St. Louis Blues.

Marchand did not practice with the rest of the team, and Karson Kuhlman took his spot in line rushes.

Marchand injured his left hand in the team's intrasquad scrimmage Thursday but practiced Saturday. He says his hand is just fine.

He says getting dinged up in practice is just part of the game.

---

11:35 a.m.

Brad Marchand was not on the ice for the Boston Bruins' last full practice before the Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues.

Marchand injured his left hand in the team's intrasquad scrimmage Thursday but practiced Saturday. Karson Kuhlman skated in Marchand's place on the Bruins' top line with Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak on Sunday, which could indicate good news about the feisty winger being available for Game 1 Monday night.

Marchand is Boston's leading scorer in the playoffs with 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists. He had 100 points on 36 goals and 64 assists during the regular season.

Defenseman Kevan Miller remains out with a lower-body injury.

[StarDust Bum]

Marchand left hand 'good' heading into Cup
May 26, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) Bruins winger Brad Marchand says his left hand is fine heading into the Stanley Cup Final.

He sat out Boston's practice Sunday after being given a ''maintenance day'' by coach Bruce Cassidy. But Marchand showed no visible signs of discomfort and didn't wear any braces on his hand as he met with reporters.

''I just told Butchy I wanted a day off. I've had enough of practicing,'' Marchand said with a smile when asked about his status for Game 1 on Monday night. ''I'm good.''

Cassidy echoed Marchand's assessment, saying ''he'll be ready to go.''

Marchand tweaked his hand during the Bruins' intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday when he bumped into Connor Clifton in front of the net. Sunday was the first practice Marchand's missed since the Bruins beat the Carolina Hurricanes on May 16 to advance to the Cup Final.

Marchand is Boston's leading scorer in the playoffs with 18 points (seven goals and 11 assists). He had 100 points (36 goals and 64 assists) during the regular season.

He says that bumps and bruises are simply part of the game at this time of the season and is nothing he is getting worked up about.

''There's always things that come in. Guys get hurt in practice and stuff like that,'' Marchand said. ''But I think we're feeling pretty good in the room. Regardless, it doesn't matter. You play with what you have and you play as healthy or unhealthy as you are this time of year. At the end of the day there's no excuses. . They have guys that are banged up, too.''

This will be the third Stanley Cup Final for Marchand. He was 22 years old in 2011 and in his second NHL season when Boston beat the Vancouver Canucks in seven games to win the franchise's sixth championship. But he said the Bruins' 2013 Cup loss to the Chicago Blackhawks sticks with him more.

''It was devastating,'' Marchand said. ''It still hurts to this day. I probably look back more on the loss and what I would do differently, than the win. You lose something like this, you're a lot closer with the hurt. It never leaves you. Hopefully we don't feel that again.''

[StarDust Bum]

AP Was There: Game 4 of 1970 Blues-Bruins for Stanley Cup
May 26, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) EDITOR'S NOTE - On May 10, 1970, the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 29 years. The Bruins won it at the expense of the St. Louis Blues, who were swept in the final for the third straight year.

The Game 4 win at the Boston Garden went to overtime and ended when Bobby Orr, a budding superstar, scored the winning goal and then flew through the air with his arms flung out in what would become one of the most memorable images in the history of the National Hockey League.

Orr is 71 now and watching intently as the Bruins and Blues meet again for the Cup, with Game 1 coming up Monday night. It is the first time the Blues have made it back to the final.

Orr shrugs off the renewed attention of his famous moment , telling the Boston Globe: ''Well, I don't come home at night and say, `Well, let's throw it on.'''

''I'm excited for what the Bruins have done. For today's Bruins and today's fans. We had our time 49 years ago with St. Louis. I still have wonderful memories. And I am happy for them all now,'' he told the newspaper. ''I think this series features two of the best stories in hockey this year.''

The Associated Press is resending its story from Game 4 written by the AP's Larry Eldridge as it was published May 11, 1970, in The Brunswick (Ga.) News.

---

BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Bruins drank champagne from the Stanley Cup as expected Sunday, but it took some late heroics by old pro John Bucyk and young superstar Bobby Orr to get the celebration going on schedule.

Trailing most of the way, the Bruins gained a tie on Bucyk's goal with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation time. Then just 40 seconds into the sudden death overtime period, Orr banged home the winning tally.

That did it. The Bruins had beaten the St. Louis Blues 4-3, sweeping their best-of-seven National Hockey League final playoff series and winning the coveted cup for the first time in 29 years.

Bedlam broke loose in Boston Garden as fans raced onto the ice. NHL President Clarence Campbell presented the cup to the winners, and Bucyk was given the honor of skating it around the rink to a deafening ovation.

The tumultuous celebration continued in the jam-packed dressing room, with players pouring champagne on everybody in sight for more than an hour.

''None of these guys have their names on that cup yet,'' coach Harry Sinden said when asked why this celebration was so wild. ''They may get there again in the future, but the first time is always the best.''

A few second later the fully dressed Sinden was tossed in the shower along with general manager Milt Schmidt as the celebration continued.

''My greatest thrill ever,'' said one player after another - even such frequent individual award winners as Orr and Phil Esposito.

''I've waited 15 years for this,'' said Bucyk, the elder statesman of the team who celebrates his 35th birthday Tuesday. ''And I wanted it for these fans. They've been waiting even longer. They deserve it.''

For quite a while, it looked as though the Blues were going to spoil the party as they battled to avoid being swept out of the finals a third straight time.

Boston's Rick Smith and St. Louis' Red Berenson traded first period goals, but Gary Sabourin put the Blues on top early in the second session and they held the 2-1 lead until Esposito scored at the 14:22 mark to knot the count again. It was Espo's 13th goal and 27th point of the playoffs - both records.

Larry Keenan's power play goal snapped the tie 19 seconds into the third period, and the later it got, the more defensive the Blues became as they tried to protect their lead. The Bruins kept on the attack, however, and Bucyk finally scored from in close to tie the game at 13:28.

The tie held through regulation time, then the Bruins came out flying for the extra session.

''Harry told us that S.t Louis has a history of coming out real strong in overtime,'' Ken Hodge said. ''We didn't want to take a chance on being beaten that way, so we turned the tables on them. We went right in, we forechecked, we kept the pressure on them. We knew they must be tired.''

Weren't the Bruins tired too after playing three periods in hot, steamy Boston Garden with the temperature outside reading 91 degrees?

''Yes, but there's a difference between being tired when you're three up and when you're three down,'' he said.

Sinden agreed that his strategy called for coming out fast and furiously.

''There was no way we were going to sit back in that overtime period,'' he said. ''We had come this far with a gung-ho type of hockey, and we were going to die by going into their end or win by doing it.''

The Bruins took the opening faceoff into St. Louis ice and kept it there until Orr's decisive goal.

The 22-year-old defenseman outraced Keenan for a loose puck, passed it to Sanderson, took a return pass and scored.

''Two kids came through,'' the 23-year-old Sanderson said. ''Bobby had a lot of anticipation. He figured he could beat Keenan to the puck or at least check him. With the confidence and guts he's got, he walked in, got the puck, gave it to me and I gave it back.''

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

NBA Finals odds:

Warriors in 4: 5-1

Warriors in 5: 7-2

Warriors in 6: +275

Warriors in 7: 5-1

Raptors in 4: 25-1

Raptors in 5: 10-1

Raptors in 6: 12-1

Raptors in 7: 6-1


**********

Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend…….

13) We need to recognize more people who do good stuff in their free time. Toronto Raptors’ Marc Gasol spent his offseason last year volunteering on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea with a mission to rescue and assist migrants and recover the bodies of those lost at sea.

12) Twins 7, White Sox 0— In their last 20 games, Minnesota has scored 149 runs, an average of 7.45 runs per game. Over is 7-4 in their last 11 games.

11) Braves 4, Cardinals 3 (10)— St Louis led 3-0 in 9th inning, blew the lead and lost for the 16th time in their last 22 games. Atlanta scored the winning run on a bases loaded walk.

Coming into the game, major league teams were 423-2 this season when leading by 3+ runs after eight innings. Now they’re 423-3.

10) Bullpens have become so hit/miss lately; lot of bettors are leaning towards betting on first five inning results, rather than nine-inning results. Keeps the starting pitcher as the essential piece of the equation.

9) Mets 4, Tigers 3— Mets split their last dozen games; this was their only win by a starting pitcher in that span. Hechevarria homered to the opposite field for the winning homer.

8) Baltimore Ravens will be using a completely new offense in 2019, but no one told the team’s QB, Lamar Jackson. Odd way to do business.

7) College basketball transfer portal:
— Joel Ntambwe bolts from UNLV to Texas Tech.

Texas Tech is coached by Chris Beard, who was UNLV’s coach for three weeks in March 2016, before jumping to the Red Raiders. This should make him even more popular in Las Vegas.

6) NBA Finals start Thursday in Toronto:
— Home team has gone 19-3 SU in Game 1 of the last 22 NBA Finals.
— Last 22 years, under is 14-7-1 in Game 1 of the Finals.
— Raptors are 8-2 SU, 7-3 ATS at home in this year’s playoffs.
— Warriors are 6-2 SU, 4-4 ATS on the road in the playoffs.

Golden State is -$285 to win the series.

5) Since 2000, most games a major league team has won without making the playoffs is 93:
— 2002 Mariners
— 2002 Red Sox
— 2003 Mariners

— 2005 Indians

4) One thing you hear baseball people say a lot: You have to have good up-the-middle defense. Apparently, baseball people in Detroit don’t say that a lot.

Detroit Tigers are playing JaCoby Jones in CF; he’s not good. He went 6-13 this weekend to get his batting average over .200. He looks very shaky in the outfield; not really sure what Detroit sees in him.

Niko Goodrum started all three games of the Tigers’ series at Citi Field this weekend, but he started at three different positions. Detroit has sketchy defense in part because they jerk around their players around so much, and in part because their players just aren’t very good.

3) Baseball stuff:
— Pirates put D Francisco Cervelli on the 7-day concussion IL.
— Padres scratched Chris Paddack from his start Sunday (stiff neck)
— Astros’ 2B Aledmys Diaz (hamstring) left Sunday’s game early.
— Tampa Bay moved P Tyler Glasnow to the 60-day IL.
— Orioles put 1B Chris Davis (hip) on the IL.

2) Get well soon to Cleveland Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert, who was hospitalized Sunday after experiencing stroke-like symptoms.

1) RIP Bart Starr, 85, who passed away this weekend; Starr led the Packers to five NFL titles, including wins in the first two Super Bowls.

Starr played college ball at Alabama; he was drafted by Green Bay in the 17th round of the 1956 draft. He also coached the Packers from 1975-83.

[StarDust Bum]

Stanley Cup Final Cheat Sheet
Kevin Rogers

After the four division champions were knocked out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, there were plenty of potential non-intriguing matchups for the final round. Ultimately, the NHL will showcase the Bruins and Blues for Lord Stanley’s Cup, as the two teams are meeting in this round for the first time since 1970.

The Bruins finished tied with the Flames for the second-most points in the NHL (107), but Boston still sat 21 points out first place in the Atlantic division. Yes, Tampa Bay ran away with the Atlantic by posting 128 points, but the Lighting were bounced by the Blue Jackets in one of the most stunning playoff upsets ever. Boston closed the regular season with a +44 goal differential, which ranked third in the NHL behind Tampa Bay and Calgary.

Boston needed to stave off Toronto in seven games of the first round, while trailing Columbus, 2-1 after three games in the second round. The Bruins are currently riding a seven-game winning streak after capturing the final three contests against the Blue Jackets, while pulling off a four-game sweep of the Hurricanes to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2013.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, Boston outscored Carolina, 17-5, which includes 11 goals scored in two blowouts a TD Garden. Three different Bruins have scored at least seven goals in the playoffs, led by center Patrice Bergeron’s eight tallies, followed by wingers Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Three Bruins have produced at least 10 assists (Marchand, David Krejci, and Torey Krug), while goaltender Tuukka Rask has played in net for all 17 playoff games, while owning a spectacular 1.84 goals against average.

Out west, the Blues entered January by owning a 15-18-4 mark for 34 points, which was tied with the Senators for the least amount of points in the league. St. Louis’ 34 points was one worse than Los Angeles for the basement of the Western Conference. The Blues turned it on the final three months for one of the most furious comebacks ever by compiling a 30-10-5 record to accumulate 65 points, which was the highest point total in that span, edging the league-best Lightning, who racked up 64.

To take it one step further, the Blues sat 18 points behind the Jets for the top spot in the Central division on New Year’s night. St. Louis made up 18 points on Winnipeg over the final 45 games to actually tie the Jets for second place in the Central division with 99 points. The Blues grounded the Jets in the first round in six games, as St. Louis won three times at Winnipeg. St. Louis went back and forth with division rival Dallas in the second round until knocking out the Stars in seven games, capped off by a double-overtime triumph in the series finale.

The Blues fell behind the Sharks, 2-1 in the Western Conference Finals following a controversial no-call on a hand pass in a Game 3 home overtime loss. St. Louis rebounded for three consecutive wins, while allowing a total of two goals in those victories. The Capitals hoisted the Cup last season as they closed all four series with road wins, but the Blues have gone the opposite way by winning each of their three series at Enterprise Center.

The home team won each of the two regular season matchups, as the Bruins dominated the Blues at TD Garden on January 17 as a -160 favorite, 5-2. Boston and St. Louis each scored a pair of second period goals following a scoreless first frame, but the Bruins took the lead in the third period by scoring three times. The OVER of 5 ½ cashed as the Bruins scored their three third period goals on only six shots.

The Blues picked up revenge in the next matchup five weeks later in St. Louis with a 2-1 shootout victory as a -125 favorite. St. Louis snapped Boston’s seven-game winning streak as goalie Jordan Binnington stopped 31 of 32 shots, while the former third round pick put together an incredible 24-5-1 regular season record and 1.89 GAA since taking over for Jake Allen in early January.

Boston has reached the Stanley Cup Final for the third time this decade, as the Bruins are seeking their first title since edging the Canucks in seven games in 2011. Their last appearance in the Cup Final came in 2013 against the Blackhawks, as Chicago won in six games although each contest was decided by two goals or less.

The Blues actually made the Stanley Cup Final in each of their first three years in existence after entering the league in 1967. St. Louis won the Western Conference in 1967-68, 1968-69, and 1969-70, but failed to win the title each time. In fact, the Blues were swept in all three series to the Canadiens in ’68 and ’69, while the Bruins finished off the Blues in four games of 1970, as Boston won the finale of that series in overtime thanks to the famous Bobby Orr flying through the air game-winning goal.

NHL expert Ben Burns checks in with his thoughts on this series, “The Bruins made it look easy against Carolina. While I expect them to hoist the Cup, I also expect that they'll face a tougher challenge here. The Blues have been on a roll for months and come in full of confidence. Still, they arguably haven't faced a team as strong or battle-tested as Boston. The Bruins showed a lot in beating a talented Toronto team. The home team won both regular season meetings. Expect home ice to be significant in the series, the Bruins ultimately winning in Game 7.”

Veteran NHL handicapper Stephen Nover feels this series which reach the limit as well, "It has been an insane Stanley Cup. The Lightning get swept in the first round and the defending champion Capitals also go out in the first round. Now it's the Blues-Bruins. There is a certain randomoness to this series, too, because of all the extra time before this championship series starts. The Blues have proven tough on the road. Both teams are getting outstanding goaltending. So I see the series going seven games. But the Bruins just have a little too much especially with their great No. 1 line to win in seven."

The Bruins are listed as a -155 favorite to capture the Cup, while the Blues sit at +135 to win their first ever title.

Game 1 – St. Louis at Boston – Monday, May 27
Game 2 – St. Louis at Boston – Wednesday, May 29
Game 3 – Boston at St. Louis – Saturday, June 1
Game 4 – Boston at St. Louis – Monday, June 3
*Game 5 – St. Louis at Boston – Thursday, June 6
*Game 6 – Boston at St. Louis – Sunday, June 9
*Game 7 – St. Louis at Boston – Wednesday, June 12

All games starting at 8:05 PM EST and will air on NBC.
*If necessary

[StarDust Bum]

NHL Stanley Cup Final: Blues vs Bruins series preview, odds and best bets
Rohit Ponnaiya

Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins are -167 favorites to beat the St. Louis Blues for their seventh Stanley Cup victory.

The puck drops for the 2019 Stanley Cup Final on Monday, as the Cinderella St. Louis Blues battle the Boston Bruins. Both teams have ridden their red-hot goaltenders throughout the NHL playoffs and we could be in for some low-scoring contests over the next two weeks. We break down the series odds and give you in-depth trends and notes so you can make the best bets in this best-of-seven series.

ST. LOUIS BLUES VS BOSTON BRUINS

Series Winner Odds: St. Louis +120/Boston -167 @ Sports Interaction
Regular Season Head to Head: 1-1
Schedule

Game 1: TD Garden, Boston, MA - Monday, May 27, 8:00 p.m ET
Game 2: TD Garden, Boston, MA - Wednesday, May 29, 8:00 p.m ET
Game 3: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO - Saturday, June 1, 8:00 p.m ET
Game 4: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO - Monday, June 3, 8:00 p.m ET
*Game 5: TD Garden, Boston, MA - Thursday, June 6, 8:00 p.m ET.
*Game 6: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO - Sunday, June 9, 8:00 p.m ET
*Game 7: TD Garden, Boston, MA - Wednesday, June 12, 8:00 p.m ET

* if necessary

BACKGROUND

The first game these two teams played against each other in the regular season was a 5-2 Bruins victory but that was without rookie sensation Jordan Binnington in nets for the Blues. The second showdown was a 2-1 shootout win for St. Louis, with both Binnington and Boston netminder Tuukka Rask playing lights out. Expect this series to be more similar to the latter game, with both goalies on the top of their game at the moment.

In an NHL post season that's had a ridiculous amount of shockers, St. Louis might be the most surprising team of all. As late as January, the Blues were at the bottom of the NHL standings but turned their season around, largely due to the play of Binnington who went 24-5-1 with a 1.89 GAA and .927 save percentage in the regular season.

After sneaking past the Stars in seven games in the second round, the Blues found themselves down two games to one against the Sharks in the Western Conference Finals before reeling off three straight wins with a combined score of 12-2.

The Bruins have been steamrolling their competition lately with seven consecutive wins, a span where they have outscored opponents 28-9. They've also gone 10-2 in their last 12 games with one of those losses coming in double overtime and the other being a tight 2-1 contest. After sweeping the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals they'll have ten days of rest by Monday, which could make them a bit rusty in Game 1.

GREAT GOALIES

When it comes to the NHL playoffs a hot goaltender can often carry a team far. These teams have the two hottest goalies in the league, and the skaters around them aren't too shabby either. Binnington has a 2.36 GAA and .914 save percentage in the playoffs while Tuukka Rask has a 1.84 GAA and .942 save percentage for Boston.

In the Blues last nine games, Binnington has been even better with a GAA of 2.00 and a .925 save percentage. Expect this series to be low scoring and take the Under if you see the O/U set at anywhere near 5.5.

FURIOUS FINISHES

Both Boston and St. Louis have scored 16 goals in each of the first two periods and 24 goals in the third period. With 42.1 percent of all their goals being scored in the final frame, look into betting the third as the highest scoring period.

BRUINS BLANKING TEAMS EARLY

Speaking of period bets, one area where Boston might have the edge is in the first period. While both teams have scored 16 goals in the opening frame, the Bruins have allowed only six first-period goals in 17 games while the Blues have given up 17 in 19 contests.

It might be worth looking into the odds for the Bruins to score first or to lead after the first period. Boston is 34-7-5 when scoring first this season, and 25-5-1 when leading after the opening 20 minutes.

Even when their opponent scores first, Boston is an impressive 11-6 at home, a tidbit that could prove intriguing for live bettors.

ST. LOUIS STAYING DISCIPLINED

The Bruins have been absolutely devastating on the power play during the postseason, converting on 34 percent of their chances. It might not be easy to get the man advantage against the Blues however, with St.Louis having a league low 6:18 PIM.

A matter of fact Boston has the second-fewest PIM in the playoffs at just 6:21 so don't be surprised to see the vast majority of this series played at even strength.

Staying disciplined might negate one of Boston's biggest strengths considering that the only other team which averaged fewer than seven penalty minutes per game during the playoffs was the Toronto Maple Leafs, and they took the Bruins to seven games in the first round.

SKATER TO WATCH: DAVID KREJCI, BOSTON BRUINS

Penalties, or the lack-thereof, could prove be an x-factor when figuring out which player will lead the series in scoring as well.

Brad Marchand (+550) and Patrice Bergeron (+600) have some of the best odds but both of them have scored most of their points this post-season on the man advantage and they might not get many of those opportunities against the Blues. Marchand has scored 10 of his 18 points on the power play, while Bergeron has totaled seven of his 13 with an extra man on the ice.

David Krejci might hold better value at +850. Krejci leads the Bruins in even-strength points with 11 (while also chipping in with three points on the PP) and centers the Bruins vital second line. The Czech veteran put up 73 points during the regular season and has scored a point in each of his last five games but did sit out a scrimmage on Thursday due to illness. He's expected to practice on Saturday and play on Monday and if he's healthy could prove great value at +850 to lead the series in scoring.

[StarDust Bum]

Blues' long-shot Stanley Cup odds could body check NHL bookies
Patrick Everson

The St. Louis Blues' Cinderella playoff run has beaten the odds and created major liability for sportsbooks heading into the Stanley Cup Final. Patrick Everson talks to Jeff Stoneback of MGM sportsbooks and Nick Bogdanovic of William Hill about how the Blues have Vegas sweating and bettors singing "Gloria."

On a mid-November night, six weeks into the 2018-19 NHL season, the St. Louis Blues traveled to Las Vegas to face the Golden Knights. The Blues were in the Central Division basement with 15 points, and the defending Western Conference champion Knights weren’t much better at second-to-last in the Pacific Division with 17 points.

Other than it being Friday night on the Strip, at an always-sold-out T-Mobile Arena, it seemed like any other early-season NHL game, with both teams still trying to find their form. However, at MGM Resorts sportsbooks, it marked the beginning of what’s become a stunning situation that looms large heading into Monday’s opening of the Stanley Cup Final between St. Louis and Boston.

The Blues entered that Nov. 16 game as +134 underdogs and fell behind 1-0 six minutes in. Then they reeled off four unanswered goals in a modestly surprising 4-1 victory, thrilling St. Louis fans who traveled out in force for the contest. Those fans, in turn, opened up their wallets on the then-40/1 shot to win the Stanley Cup.

“Early in the season, we always get a spike on visiting teams in the Stanley Cup futures book,” MGM sportsbooks’ director of trading Jeff Stoneback told us. “That day, we obviously had a lot of out-of-town visiting fans come to the game. So we did take a large number of bets on the Blues for that game. The Blues beat the Knights, and those fans then came in and bet the Stanley Cup futures.”

Still, it seemed innocuous enough, especially since six weeks later, on Jan. 2, the Blues were NHL cellar dwellers, last among all 31 teams with 34 points. MGM books had St. Louis at 150/1, while William Hill US had the Blues at their longest odds of the year, 300/1 to hoist Lord Stanley’s chalice.

“That was the high-water mark there, the first of the year, because they were dead last,” William Hill director of trading Nick Bogdanovich said.

Little did Stoneback or Bogdanovich know that as the NHL calendar steamed toward June, the Blues would still be alive – and with that life, significant liability for the books.

Some bettors got on board at those huge numbers throughout much of January, while St. Louis actually made modest improvements, standing 25th in the league – but still second-to-last in the Central – with 45 points on Jan. 22.

A day later, Jan. 23, was when things really began to take shape. The Blues routed host Anaheim 5-1, then followed with three more road wins, including an impressive 1-0 overtime shutout of league-leading Tampa Bay. Rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington yielded just five goals in those four games. Bettors were getting more intrigued.

The Blues then swept a home-and-home with perennial Western Conference contender Nashville, followed by five more wins – including three on the road – to run their hot streak to 11-0. St. Louis capped the run with a 3-2 home overtime victory against Toronto to stand third in its division and fourth in the Western Conference.

“Give the people credit. They bet it really early, before the run started. So hats off to the bettors for that one,” Bogdanovich said. “Then they were on the Blues early during that run, so I give them credit for that, too. And the number dropped, and they just kept betting it and betting it.”

Meanwhile, Stoneback was seeing the same situation unfold at MGM books, as the Blues’ Stanley Cup price tightened all the way to 8/1.

“We took some big bets when they were on a double-digit winning streak, so we’ve got a lot of liability on St. Louis,” he said.

How much is a lot? Well, think back to a year ago, during the Golden Knights’ inaugural season, when many Vegas sportsbooks were lamenting the monster losses they would incur if the hometown team won the championship. The Knights created a heavy sweat, reaching the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Washington in six games. MGM books are sweating it again this year.

“St. Louis is horrible. All the talk last year of Vegas winning the Cup, how much everybody was gonna lose, we’re gonna lose close to that if St. Louis wins the Cup,” Stoneback said. “We are very close to the liability we had on the Knights. The Blues came from so far down, and people just kept taking a shot.”

In postseason play, the Blues dropped Winnipeg in six games, outlasted Dallas in a seven-game series, then beat San Jose in six games in the Western Conference final. St. Louis is now a +135 underdog to win the championship series, with MGM harboring mid-six-figure liability on the Blues and William Hill US in a similar spot – which is actually a better position than last year, when Bogdanovich’s risk room dodged approximately $1.5 million in Golden Knights liability.

“It’s like a third of that,” Bogdanovich said of St. Louis’ liability. “The Blues were reasonably priced for the playoffs, it was around 20/1. But there was so much liability to them already. Bettors are still on the Blues on a game-by-game basis. On the futures, all the damage was done at those high numbers.

“It’s a phenomenal move, from last place to the championship series.”

[StarDust Bum]

1St Louis -2 Boston
ST LOUIS are 23-6 ATS (17 Units) against good passing teams - averaging 5 or more assists per game in the 2nd half of the year in the current season.

****************************

NHL
Dunkel

Monday, May 27

St. Louis @ Boston

Game 1-2
May 27, 2019 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis
13.081
Boston
14.692
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
-160
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(-160); Over

*************************************

NHL
Long Sheet

Monday, May 27

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ST LOUIS (57-33-0-11, 125 pts.) at BOSTON (61-29-0-9, 131 pts.) - 5/27/2019, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 13-2 ATS (+8.9 Units) in home games in non-conference games this season.
BOSTON is 36-22 ATS (+3.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 42-22 ATS (+11.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 41-23 ATS (+11.2 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 24-14 ATS (+9.7 Units) in road games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 36-23 ATS (+11.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 24-11 ATS (+11.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
BOSTON is 296-247 ATS (-104.3 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
BOSTON is 1-6 ATS (-8.6 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest this season.
BOSTON is 60-63 ATS (+60.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 3-3 (+0.0 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 3-3-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.2 Units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


NHL

Monday, May 27

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

St. Louis Blues
St. Louis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis's last 6 games
St. Louis is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
St. Louis is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis's last 6 games on the road
St. Louis is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston
St. Louis is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games when playing Boston
St. Louis is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Boston

Boston Bruins
Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Boston's last 10 games
Boston is 5-12 ATS in its last 17 games at home
Boston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games at home
Boston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing St. Louis
Boston is 8-16 SU in its last 24 games when playing St. Louis
Boston is 4-10-2 SU in its last 16 games when playing at home against St. Louis