Forechecking Blues hit back to tie Final
ST. LOUIS – Forward Pat Maroon didn’t figure in the scoring in the first home Stanley Cup Final win in Blues’ history. But he had the best understanding of how it was accomplished.
“Our team is not an east-west team,” Maroon said. “I think we did a good job of just playing north-south hockey. We’re a big, heavy team, and when we get pucks low we grind it down low and get second and third opportunities.”
The Blues set a tone with Ryan O’Reilly’s goal 43 seconds into the game Monday and then rode a strong forecheck and effort to a 4-2 win against the Bruins that tied the best-of-seven Final at 2-2 heading into Thursday’s game in Boston.
“(O’Reilly) is a good player,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Competes hard, has a lot of pride, finishes plays around the net. … Sometimes you tip your hat to a good player.”
A heavy, relentless Blues’ forecheck played a significant role in the outcome.
At one point in the second period, the Blues put on a forechecking clinic that had their fans roaring every time a St. Louis player laid a hit on a Bruins player.
It was an impressive showing, particularly by a team that lost Game 3 by a 7-2 count.
“(After) a tough loss like that, I think a lot of teams start throwing each other around the bus, blaming other people,” Blues forward Zach Sanford said. “With this group, it’s all just boosting each other and having each other’s back. That showed tonight.”
In Game 3, Boston’s top players (led by Patrice Bergeron and Torey Krug) carried the Bruins to victory.
In Game 4, it was the Blues’ top players stepping up.
O’Reilly scored twice, including the game-winner in the third period.
“He’s been our best player all year and he got rewarded tonight,” Maroon said.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored his third goal of the series and his 33rd playoff goal since the start of the 2014 postseason. Only Alex Ovechkin (34) has scored more postseason goals than Tarasenko in that period.
“When he plays like a beast, and goes in and out, he gets rewarded,” Maroon said. “Our top lines are playing good hockey right now.”
Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo had a strong game with two assists.
The St. Louis players were better than the Bruins’ top players in Game 4.
“From the get-go, (the Blues) were winning loose pucks, winning their battles,” Boston center Charlie Coyle said. “They came hungry, and we need to do a better job. When we have those good starts, we do the right things, we outwork them and we support each other well. That’s when we give ourselves a great shot and we seem to kind of snowball after that. We didn’t have it as much as they did tonight.”
The net result of the Blues’ win is that we are back where we started in this series. Before the Stanley Cup Final, it seemed like a toss-up series. After four games, it still is.