The Boston Bruins scored four power play goals on four shots to sour an event 49 years in the making for their hosts, as they defeated the St. Louis Blues 7-2 in Game 3 at Enterprise Center.
It was the first Stanley Cup Final game played in St. Louis since May 5, 1970; they also lost the previous six.
Ivan Barbashev and Colton Parayko scored for the hosts, who went 1-for-5 on the power play.
Jordan Binnington allowed five goals on 19 shots before being pulled for the first time in 52 starts this season. Jake Allen made three saves in relief during his first home appearance since January 8.
Blues coach Craig Berube explained “Five goals he allowed, so he had seen enough,” he continued “We just wanted to pull him and get ready for the next game.”
Binnington is 5-2 with a .937 save percentages (10g on 153 shots) and 1.84 goals-against average in games after a loss in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including Game 2 of this series.
Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle, Sean Kuraly, David Pastrnak, Torey Krug, Noel Acciari and Marcus Johanson all scored for Boston, who went 4-for-4 on the power play. They are 6-for-14 on the PP in the series and 13-for-29 in their last seven games.
St. Louis challenged Kuraly‘s goal for offside, and the Situation Room confirmed that Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson passed the puck into the defending zone, meaning the Bruins were NOT offside.
Berube said he made the challenge because he thought it was 50/50 and was hopeful of going into the intermission trailing 2-0 instead of 3-0. Instead his side were assessed a minor penalty for delay of game for the failed challenge, and Pastrnak went on to score on the PP 41 seconds into the second period making it 4-0. Boston scored four goals on five shots.
Torey Krug became the first Bruins player to get four points in a Stanley Cup Final game (1g, 3a), and Patrice Bergeron had three points (1g, 2a). All their points came on the power play. Tuukka Rask made 27 saves.
Bergeron, who recorded his 100th playoff point, leads the postseason with seven PP goals, two from the NHL record shared by Mike Bossy (NY Islanders, 1981) and Cam Neely (Bruins, 1991).
Since 1939, when the Cup Final went to the best-of-7 format, the team that wins game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead has won the Cup 78.6% of the time (22-6).
Up Next:
Bruins v Blues – Monday, June 3 (8pm – NBC)
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Artistry of Sport 
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