Local Sports

Blues Win Stanley Cup

Jordan Binnington stopped 32 shots, and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O'Reilly scored for the fourth straight game Wednesday night to lead the Blues to a 4-1 victory over Boston in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and their first NHL championship.

 

O'Reilly added an assist, Alex Pietrangelo had a goal and an assist and Brayden Schenn and Zach Sanford also scored for St. Louis, which had the worst record in the league in early January but won 30 of their final 49 regular-season games.

 

Behind Binnington, the Blues eliminated the Jets in six games, the Stars in seven and then knocked out the Sharks in six to reach the final for the first time since 1970. 

 

In a physical series that left Bruins captain Zdeno Chara with a broken jaw and saw two Blues suspended for head hits, the teams took turns winning the first three games, with Binnington getting pulled from a 7-2 loss in Game 3. St. Louis won the next two to move one win from the title, but Boston erupted for five goals in Game 6 on Sunday to force the series to the limit.

 

Boston had home-ice advantage, along with a huge edge in Stanley Cup and Game 7 experience: Five Bruins remained from the team that beat Vancouver in seven to win the franchise's sixth title in 2011, then returned to the final two years later.

 

But it was the rookie Binnington - not the 2014 Vezina Trophy winner Tuukka Rask - who took a shutout into the final minutes Wednesday. The Blues were never really in danger after scoring twice in the final few minutes of the first period.

 

The Blues went ahead at the end of the first period on goals from O'Reilly and Pietrangelo about three minutes apart. The second period was scoreless, then Schenn made it 3-0 with 8:35 to play and Sanford put it out of reach before the Bruins spoiled Binnington's bid for a shutout.

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