NHL battles now going to the strong

Physical Bruins, Blues defy league’s trend toward finesse

BOSTON — 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 a series 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 the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015 and Penguins in 2016 and 2017 exemplified that. But 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.”

The Bruins and Blues don’t lack highend 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 nononsense, 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.

“The two hardest, heaviest teams are in the final,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said after his team was eliminated by the Blues. “Everybody talks about skill and speed. ... There is a room for that. But I don’t think (this matchup is) an accident.”