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Cnotes53 · May 29, 2019

The Latest: Blues' Fabbri takes ice for warmups for Game 2
May 29, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) The Latest from Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins (all times Eastern):

11:10 p.m.

Carl Gunnarsson has given the St. Louis Blues their first win in Stanley Cup Final history.

He blasted a shot past Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask with 3:51 gone in overtime to give the Blues a 3-2 win over Boston. The series is tied at 1-1 with Game 3 in St. Louis coming up on Saturday night.

It's the first Cup Final win in franchise history for the Blues, who were swept in each of their three consecutive appearances from 1968-1970.

This was another resilient showing for the Blues, who coughed up a two-goal lead and put only 20 shots on net in a flat 4-2 loss in Game 1.

All four regulation goals came in the first period. Defensive-minded defenseman Robert Bortuzzo scored his second of the playoffs and Vladimir Tarasenko added his 10th to show St. Louis would have a response after a strong start by the Bruins.

---

10:55 p.m.

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is going to overtime.

The St. Louis Blues are tied 2-2 with the Bruins after three bruising periods in Boston. It is the first Cup Final game to go to OT since 2016.

The Blues have outshot the Bruins 33-23, and Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask has 31 saves in another stellar performance. He has to thank the post, too, after Carl Gunnarsson clanked what could've been the game-winner off the iron behind Rask in the final minutes of the third period.

---

10 p.m.

The Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues are tied at 2 going into the third period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

This is much different than Game 1, though. The Blues' 24 shots through 40 minutes is four more than they had in all of Game 1, which they lost 4-2.

Boston has 14 shots, including only one total on four power plays. There have already been six penalties called in a game with plenty of rough play.

The Blues have outhit the Bruins 33-19 so far. Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has not returned after a big hit from Oskar Sundqvist while the Blues' Tyler Bozak took a stick to the face, resulting in a four-minute power play while Connor Clifton went to the box.

---

9:35 p.m.

Vladimir Tarasenko is back for the St. Louis Blues.

Tarasenko went down the tunnel from the bench to the locker room early in the second period and missed several shifts. He returned to the bench midway through the period and took a twirl at the under-10 minute timeout.

He was back on the ice for the next faceoff in a 2-2 game.

Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has not returned after a big hit from Oskar Sundqvist.

---

9:15 p.m.

Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has not returned at the start of the second period after taking a hit to the head from St. Louis forward Oskar Sundqvist late in the first.

Grzelcyk was down in the corner for a while and needed assistance from teammates to get off the ice. Sundqvist was given a minor penalty for boarding, and St. Louis killed off the power play.

The game was tied 2-2 entering the second period. Boston holds a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

---

9 p.m.

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is all tied up at 2-2 after a hard-hitting first period between Boston and St. Louis.

Joakim Nordstrom scored just 40 seconds after Robert Bortuzzo's goal to give Boston a 2-1 lead, but the Blues answered quickly. Vladimir Tarasenko took advantage of a mistake by Brad Marchand and lifted the puck over Tuukka Rask with a second effort to tie the score again at 2.

There have been plenty of hits. The Blues' Oskar Sundqvist took a boarding penalty for a hit that knocked defenseman Matt Grzelcyk out of the game. The Blues managed to kill off the Bruins power play.

---

8:40 p.m.

A flurry of early goals in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Robert Bortuzzo scored for St. Louis to knot the game at 1-1 but Joakim Nordstrom answered just 40 second later to give Boston a 2-1 lead at 10:17 of the first period.

Nordstrom was left alone in front of the net after a Blues turnover and slid the puck past goaltender Jordan Binnington, who has now allowed five goals on 43 shots so far in the final.

Six players have scored for the Bruins so far in the series as they seek a 2-0 lead.

---

8:30 p.m.

Boston has grabbed an early 1-0 lead in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against St. Louis.

The Bruins cashed in a power-play opportunity. Another penalty on the undisciplined Blues -goaltender interference on Sammy Blais - paved the way for a goal by Charlie Coyle 3:55 into the game and 49 seconds into the power play.

The Blues took five penalties in losing Game 1.

---

8:22 p.m.

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is underway. Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy is content to go power vs. power with the St. Louis Blues.

Blues coach Craig Berube started his first line of Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko and top defensive pairing of Joel Edmundson and Alex Pietrangelo.

Cassidy countered with Boston's first line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak and defensemen Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy.

The Bruins are hoping to take a 2-0 lead to St. Louis for Game 3 on Saturday night.

---

8 p.m.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is the surprise pregame flag bearer prior to Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

There had been buzz throughout the day at TD Garden that a member of the Super Bowl champion Patriots would fire up the crowd before the Boston Bruins look to take a 2-0 series lead on the St. Louis Blues.

Members of the 2011 Stanley Cup winning Bruins had the honor in Game 1.

---

7:50 p.m.

Robby Fabbri looks to be in the St. Louis Blues' lineup for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in Boston.

Fabbri took line rushes in warmups with Pat Maroon and Tyler Bozak in the spot previously filled by Robert Thomas, who's out with an undisclosed injury.

Fabbri hasn't played since May 3. St. Louis coach Craig Berube said he decided to take Thomas out of the lineup because he is banged up and his absence was not related to the open-ice hit he took from Torey Krug in a Game 1 loss Monday.

The Bruins look to have the same lineup from the opener.

---

3 p.m.

The St. Louis Blues will be without injured forward Robert Thomas in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins.

Thomas has been dealing with an undisclosed injury and not participating in most practices and morning skates. Coach Craig Berube says Thomas has been banged up and his absence is not related to the open-ice hit he took from Torey Krug in a Game 1 loss Monday.

Berube said he decided to take Thomas out of the lineup because he is banged up. It could mean Robby Fabbri will see his first game action since Game 5 of the second round against Dallas on May 3.

Blues defenseman Vince Dunn will miss his fifth consecutive game after taking a puck to the face on shot from San Jose's Brenden Dillon in the Western Conference final.

Cnotes53 · May 29, 2019

SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY MAY 29, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:20 PM St. Louis Blues Boston Bruins TD Garden

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY JUNE 1, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:08 PM Boston Bruins St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center

SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY JUNE 3, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:08 PM Boston Bruins St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center

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

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

05/29/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -13.85
05/27/2019 1-1-0 50.00% +0.00
05/21/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -10.50
05/19/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -11.90
05/17/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -10.50
05/16/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
05/15/2019 1-1-0 50.00% +0.90
05/14/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -11.50
05/13/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -1.50
05/12/2019 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
05/11/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
05/09/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -10.50
05/08/2019 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
05/07/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
05/06/2019 1-3-0 25.00% -11.55
05/05/2019 1-0-1 100.00% +5.45
05/04/2019 2-2-0 50.00% -1.00
05/03/2019 1-3-0 25.00% -13.00
05/02/2019 2-2-0 50.00% +0.35
05/01/2019 2-2-0 50.00% -1.00

Totals..............19-30-1 .....38.77% -85.95

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

BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS................... ..UNITS..................O/U..................UNITS.............TOTALS

05/29/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00..................0 - 1.................-5.50..............-5.50
05/27/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.00....................1 - 0................+5.00............+0.00
05/21/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.00....................0 - 1................-5.50.............-10.50
05/19/2019..............0 - 0...................+0.00....................0 - 1................-5.50.............-5.50
05/17/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.00....................0 - 1.................-5.50.............-10.50
05/16/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00...................0 - 1.................-5.50.............-5.50
05/15/2019..............1 - 0....................+6.40...................0 - 1.................-5.50.............+0.90
05/14/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00...................0 - 1.................-5.50..............-5.50
05/13/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00...................1 - 0.................+5.00.............+5.00
05/12/2019..............1 - 0....................+5.00...................1 - 0.................+5.00.............+10.00
05/11/2019..............0 - 0 .................. +0.00...................0 - 1.................-5.50..............-5.50
05/09/2019..............0 - 1.....................-5.00.................. 0 - 1.................-5.50..............-10.50
05/08/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.00..................1 - 0.................+5.00.............+10.00
05/07/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.00..................0 - 1..................-5.50..............-0.50
05/06/2019..............0 - 1......................-5.00..................1 - 1..................-0.50..............-5.50
05/05/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.45..................0 - 0................. -0.00.............+5.45
05/04/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................0 - 2.................-11.00.............-11.00
05/03/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................1 - 1..................-0.50...............-0.50
05/02/2019..............1 - 1.....................+0.85..................1 - 1..................-0.50 ..............+0.35
05/01/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................0 - 2.................-11.00.............-11.00

Totals..................... 6 - 6.....................+2.70................7 - 17...................-58.50............-55.80

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

APRIL'S NHL BEST BETS

Totals....................10 - 12.................+3.00..................30 - 19.............+45.50...............+48.50

Cnotes53 · May 29, 2019

Thursday?s 6-pack

Matchups for the Gavitt Games this fall:

? Villanova at Ohio State

? Michigan State at Seton Hall

? Creighton at Michigan

? Purdue at Marquette

? Providence at Northwestern

? Penn State at Georgetown

? Minnesota at Butler

? DePaul at Iowa

Quote of the Day
?Courage is not the absence of fear, but the capacity to act despite our fears.?
John McCain

Thursday?s quiz
Which state is known as the Granite State?

Wednesday?s quiz
Doug Williams, Mark Rypien, Joe Theismann won Super Bowls playing for Joe Gibbs.

Tuesday?s quiz
Jacob deGrom is a really good pitcher, but the Mets are 16-25 in his last 41 starts.

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

Thursday?s List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud??

13) One important thing in baseball now is for your starting pitchers to go deeper into games, to take stress off your bullpen. Over the course of a 162-game schedule, you can wear out your bullpen if they get used too much? after all, the starting pitchers are the better pitchers.

So far this season, Angels have only had 10 games where their starter went 6+ innings, but they use the opener a decent amount. John Means lasted six innings Wednesday; it was only the 11th game that Baltimore?s starters lasted 6+ innings

12) Pirates 7, Reds 2? These teams don?t like each other; since 2014, 72 Pirates have been hit by Cincinnati pitchers, 64 Reds have been hit by Pittsburgh hurlers. Six players were hit in the 5-4 Pirates? win Wednesday.

Eugenio Suarez got drilled on the hand in 8th inning; x-rays came back negative, but Suarez had some words for pitcher Clay Holmes on his way to first base.

11) Cubs starting pitchers gave up 6+ runs four games in a row Saturday-Tuesday, first time they?ve done that since August of 2006.

10) Foul poles at Safeco Field in Seattle are 92 feet high. In case you were wondering.

9) Toronto will host a college basketball tripleheader Nov 16;
? Tennessee-Washington
? Buffalo-Harvard
? Rutgers-St Bonaventure

8) College basketball transfer portal:
? Coppin State transfer Justin Steers bolts to Rider.

7) Baseball stuff:
? Astros put SS Carlos Correa (broken rib) on IL.

6) Houston now has Altuve, Springer, Correa, Diaz all on the IL. Tough times for their training staff. Correa got hurt during a home massage; he broke a rib getting massaged.

5) Top five starting pitchers, if you bet on all their starts:
1. Lucas Giolito CWS (8-2) +$855
2. Clayton Kershaw LA (8-0) +$800
3. Jordan Lyles Pitt (8-2) +$777
4. Matt Shoemaker Tor (5-0) +$673
5. Jose Berrios Minn (9-2) +$671

4) Seven of Notre Dame?s football opponents this fall have a bye week the week before they play the Fighting Irish, first time that has happened to anyone in the last 30 years.

3) Former Bengals? coach Marvin Lewis has joined Arizona State?s football staff as a special advisor to head coach Herm Edwards. Too bad; Lewis was good on TV doing AAF games and would?ve been a solid TV analyst for NFL games.

2) Blue Jays? CF Jonathan Davis made one of the best catches you?ll ever see to end the first inning in Tampa Bay last night- it saved two runs, cost Avisail Garcia two RBI.

1) Random thing I learned today: singer Ariana Grande is allergic to tomatoes- she cancelled two shows after having an allergic reaction this week. No pizza for her.

Cnotes53 · May 31, 2019

Friday?s 6-pack

Triples-doubles in Game 1 of an NBA Finals:

? Wilt Chamberlain (Apr. 14, 1967)

? Walt Frazier (Apr. 26, 1972)

? Dave Cowens (May 23, 1976)

? Magic Johnson (June 2, 1991)

? Jason Kidd (June 5, 2002

? LeBron James (June 6, 2013)

Quotes of the Day
Part 1
?I?m extremely disappointed about not being on the field with my teammates. I sustained the rib fracture during a massage at my home on Tuesday. To sustain an injury in such an unusual way makes it even more frustrating. However, I will work hard to get back on the field as quickly as possible to help our team achieve our goal of winning another championship.?
Carlos Correa, who needs a new masseuse

Part 2
?Are you f?-ing blind?!?!?!?
Female fan at the Oakland Coliseum Wednesday, yelling at the home plate ump after a called strike. Her voice was captured by the field mike.

Friday?s quiz
Which NBA head coach was born in Lebanon?

Thursday?s quiz
New Hampshire is known as the Granite State.

Wednesday?s quiz
Doug Williams, Mark Rypien, Joe Theismann won Super Bowls playing for Joe Gibbs.

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

Friday?s List of 13: Random stuff with weekend here??.

13) Oh Canada is one of my favorite songs; when I got married many, many years ago, we had to pay the organist $75, whether she played at the wedding or not. This was 1992, $75 was a decent payday. The $75 annoyed me a great deal; it really irritated me. I don?t even think the priest got $75. Organists must have a good union.

Anyway, we?re sitting there on the altar after Communion and the organist is earning her $75 and all of a sudden, I?m hearing her play Oh Canada, and there are murmurs in the church. I had no idea this was going to happen. Murmurs turned to laughter. She played it well.

The marriage didn?t go very well, but that was definitely the highlight of the wedding. Got a text reminding me of that during that national anthem in Toronto last night. Still makes me laugh.

12) Raptors 118, Warriors 109? Siakam shot 14-17 from floor, scored 32 points with five assists for Raptors. Green/Bell/Iguodala shot combined 6-18 from floor as Toronto takes 1-0 series lead on its home floor.

Dell Curry played the last three years of his 16-year career for Toronto, so of course Drake shows up for this game wearing a Dell Curry Raptors? jersey.

12) Weird stat of the day from The Sporting News: This is the 36th consecutive NBA Finals series with at least one former teammate of Shaquille O?Neal. Danny Green and Shaq were teammates on the Cavaliers nine years ago.

10) Back in January, when the St Louis Blues were floundering near the bottom of the NHL, a courageous bettor wagered $400 on the Blues (250-1) to win the Stanley Cup. He is three wins away from a big payday. Notable that he didn?t hedge his bet before the finals to guarantee a profit. Finals series is tied, 1-1.

9) You can?t make this stuff up: A Jacksonville couple was arrested this week on charges of animal cruelty after a police officer rescued a pig from the couple?s steaming hot Lexus that was parked in a mall parking lot. Temperatures were in the high 90?s at the time.

I mean, not only do you have a pig in a car, but you have a damn Lexus. Why?

8) All-time record for home runs in a month:
? 1,119 in August 2017
? 1,101 in June 2017

So far this May, entering Thursday?s games, there have been 1,069 homers hit.

7) Baseball stuff:
? Detroit optioned OF Victor Reyes back to AAA.
? Red Sox put P Hector Velasquez (back) on the IL.
? Cincinnati optioned P Lucas Sims back to AAA.
? Marlins optioned P Elieser Hernandez back to AAA.

Jake Odorizzi?s last six starts for Minnesota:
? 35.2 IP, allowed 3 runs, 39 baserunners, Twins won all six games.

6) Cleveland Indians didn?t hit a triple in their first 54 games; they hit three of them Wednesday, in their 55th game.

5) MLB Network couldn?t wait to show Boston-New York games Thursday/Friday, but horrible weather postponed Thursday?s game in the Bronx- it?ll be made up August 3rd as part of a doubleheader. I?m guessing that twinbill will be on national TV.

National TV outlets should try showing more Astros? games; they have a dome. No rainouts.

4) This didn?t sound right when I heard it, but apparently, Los Angeles County has more voters than 42 of the other 49 states; they have voters who speak 13 different languages.

3) Lakers-Nets are playing two preseason games in China in October.

2) College basketball transfer portal:
? South Carolina poached 6-9 Micaiah Henry from Tennessee Tech.
? Brad Calipari (John?s son) entered the transfer portal; guess he wants playing time.
? KJ Lawson bolts from Kansas to Tulane; another guy who wants to play.

1) In case you were wondering, people in Finland prefer silence to casual conversation.

Schools and tutors in Finland are now offering courses in casual conversation; ?It does not come naturally to Finns.? Some Finns have begun to take lessons, in classrooms or even from private tutors, so they can make conversation in their international business dealings.

Says one Finnish small talk tutor: ?Lower your standards; not every conversation you have has to be clever. You can comment on food, any music that is playing, even the weather.?

Who knew that could be a job? Go figure.

Cnotes53 · May 31, 2019

Hate builds up between Blues, Bruins
May 30, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) There was blood in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. And a possible head injury. And plenty of fresh bumps and bruises.

The best-of-seven series between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues has turned decidedly nasty, and it only took two games. If that.

Connor Clifton bloodied the Blues' Tyler Bozak with a high stick, Oskar Sundqvist knocked the Bruins' Matt Grzelcyk out of the game by ramming him into the glass and Robert Bortuzzo slashed Boston's Jake DeBrusk between padding on his left arm before a faceoff, leaving him doubled over in pain. Former Blues captain David Backes crushed Sammy Blais with an open-ice hit just two nights after helmetless Torey Krug skated down the ice and leveled the Blues' Robert Thomas with a body check. Thomas hasn't played since.

The NHL has consistently emphasized skill and speed of late but sometimes you can steamroll your way to a playoff victory, which the Blues did 3-2 in overtime Wednesday night to tie the series at a game apiece. The league still sells hatred, and it didn't take long for that to build up between these heavy-hitting teams.

''They're aggressive, they're big, they hit well and we're a big team and we hit, so there's going to be a lot of chirping, a lot of hitting going, a lot of scrums,'' St. Louis forward Patrick Maroon said.

At the moment, it is advantage St. Louis. The Blues outhustled the Bruins and delivered more blows in grabbing home-ice advantage with Game 3 coming up Saturday night in St. Louis.

''I think we've been doing that all playoffs, no? It's just our style,'' Sundqvist said. ''That's how we play and when we do it, we're good, we're winning pucks back and we're creating offense. That's part of our game.''

Knowing that, Backes said the Bruins want to ''match physicality, stare them in the eyes and go right through it when they're trying to amp that up and have an answer at times when we have the opportunity to be physical on their guys.''

St. Louis was credited with 49 hits in a game filled with aches and pains. Sundqvist's hit on Grzelcyk drew a boarding penalty and the Boston defenseman needed help to get off the ice. Blais and Jaden Schwartz also each ran into goaltender Tuukka Rask and both were whistled for interference.

''We can't let them push us around,'' Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo said. ''We can't retaliate after the whistle. They were right on top of us. We kind of felt like whenever we turned around to move up the ice, they were right there, doing a good job with their sticks and playing a little bit more physical than we were.''

The Bruins weren't shrinking violets, though. Featuring a blue line with four players 6 feet tall or shorter, Charlie McAvoy was throwing the body like someone not afraid to hit above his weight class.

The hits continued to take their toll. The Blues were already without Thomas and defenseman Vince Dunn, and top-line winger Vladimir Tarasenko missed a big chunk of the second period. Bozak went down the tunnel to close the stick-induced cut on his face but returned not long after.

Bozak was no worse for the wear. Just part of the cost of doing business.

The same couldn't be said for Grzelcyk, who went to a hospital for tests. Boston, down to five defenseman, appeared to tire late.

''It's a long series,'' Blues defenseman Colton Paryko said. ''Obviously they went down a D-man and when you have five D-men and you continue to press and press and press, it's hard for the D-men. I thought we did a good job of continuing to do that.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks sped their way to the Stanley Cup in recent years. The Blues are looking to follow in the heavy tracks of the champion Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals, who pounded their opponents on the way to the title.

After earning the first playoff victory in franchise history by turning the Bruins black and blue, the Blues found a recipe that could lead to the first championship.

''We've just got to continue hitting,'' Maroon said. ''That's our team.''

Cnotes53 · May 31, 2019

Bruins lamenting missed opportunities
May 30, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) The Bruins' eight-game playoff win streak ended with a thud, marred by missed opportunities and continued futility from their best players.

One of the hottest teams in the NHL over the past two rounds of the playoffs, Boston was beaten up during their 3-2 overtime loss to the Blues in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night.

Carl Gunnarsson's goal gave St. Louis the victory, but it came after the Bruins' top line was shut down again. Boston had to get a boost from its fourth line to keep pace with an invigorated Blues attack.

The Bruins head to St. Louis suddenly facing questions of how to jumpstart their offense after watching their dynamic scorers silenced for the second straight game. Game 3 is Saturday night.

''Missed opportunity,'' Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. ''They seemed to play with more urgency tonight than they did in the first game. They didn't allow us to get the space. As a result, we didn't seem to win as many races as we did in Game 1 to the pucks. Some of that is on us.''

St. Louis allowed only first-period goals by Charlie Coyle and Joakim Nordstrom and limited Boston's first line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak to seven shots on net.

Through the first two games, the trio is a combined minus-7 when they are on the ice. They still don't have an even-strength point in the series. Marchand has the only goal between them, an empty netter in the closing minutes of Game 1.

''Yeah, we need to do better. We can't play like that,'' Marchand said. ''We can control the mistakes that are made.''

During the win streak, Boston held a 32-11 scoring margin, scored a startling 34.5% of the time on the power play and limited opponents to 3.8% with the man advantage (1 of 26). Goaltender Tuukka Rask also was a virtual wall between the pipes, with an 1.38 goals-against average and two shutouts. Six of Boston's eight wins also came by two or more goals.

None of that mattered in Game 2.

Despite being handed five power-play opportunities for the second time in as many games, Boston's lone power-play goal came 3:55 into the game when Coyle capitalized on a goaltender interference penalty called on Blues' winger Sammy Blais.

Rask was far more busy this game, too. After turning aside 20 shots in the opener, he managed to stop 33 shots but didn't get much help from a defense that allowed the Blues to pile up a 37-23 advantage in shots.

It also didn't help that defenseman Matt Grzelyk left the game in the first period when he went down following a check into the boards by Oskar Sundqvist. He was helped off the ice and sent to a hospital for evaluation. His status for Game 3 was to be determined.

''They were the better team,'' Rask said. ''You scout enough and see enough video to know what the other team is all about. You got to play like you have a chance to win. Obviously Grizzy going down in the first, were are down to five on D. ... You've got to simplify things and they were just hard on us so we couldn't get any room and were off our game.''

Coyle said despite a rough night, the team is confident the issues can be fixed.

''You can't get too high or too low. It's 1-to-1. We're still in a good spot here,'' he said. ''We just have to go into their building and try to get one. That's all you can do.''

Cnotes53 · May 31, 2019

Bounce-back Binnington out to beat Bruins
May 30, 2019
By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) The resolve Jordan Binnington is showing in the playoffs was forged in Bruins black and gold.

Now it's being used to try to beat the organization that took him in.

Binnington bounced back from a rough start to the Stanley Cup Final to make 21 saves in the St. Louis Blues' Game 2 overtime victory that tied the best-of-seven series against Boston at 1-1. The 25-year-old rookie goaltender improved to 6-2 in the playoffs after a loss after being 6-0 in those situations during the regular season.

''Life of a goaltender,'' Binnington said. ''Just keep moving forward and regroup, just try to be there and give your team a chance to win. I keep that mindset.''

Binnington's life as a goaltender hasn't been easy and it included a notable stop in Providence with the Bruins' American Hockey League affiliate. The NHL's expansion to Vegas and a type of minor league musical chairs forced St. Louis to share an AHL team and it chose Ville Husso over Binnington for a goalie spot in San Antonio.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong asked other teams if anyone wanted an experienced goaltender in the minors, and Boston's Don Sweeney and his staff called inquiring about Binnington. Despite better numbers, Binnington played only 28 games to Bruins prospect Zane McIntyre's 47.

''I certainly understood that the Boston organization was developing their players, not ours,'' said Armstrong, who expressed concern the Blues ''failed'' Binnington by farming him out to Providence. ''So his numbers indicated that he maybe could've got more games in the net, he didn't get those. It was difficult for him.''

That difficult stretch helped Binnington get to this point. He won 17 games and had a 2.05 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. He also looks back fondly on his brief time in the Bruins' organization he's now trying to keep from winning the Stanley Cup.

''They were nothing but good to me ... I'm very fortunate they took me in,'' Binnington said. ''I was fortunate to develop and grow there.''

Binnington worked with Providence goaltending coach Mike Dunham, a veteran of 11 NHL seasons between the pipes. Binnington, who came out of nowhere this season to become a finalist for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year and get the Blues into the playoffs and on a run, called Dunham a great influence.

''You can learn from a guy who's played like that and he showed some experience and maybe some pointers,'' Binnington said. ''It's a lot of about just giving a goalie confidence, making him feel good because we're here for a reason and we have our structure down. But you learn as you go and you can take something from everyone.''

Jake Allen and Chad Johnson were forced to step aside for Binnington and the Blues climbed out of last place in the NHL back in January. Now he and the Blues head home with some momentum for Game 3 on Saturday night.

Binnington's stint with Providence really didn't teach his former teammates now with the big Bruins much about how to beat him. Perhaps Dunham had some input on Boston shooting and scoring five-hole early in the series, but it's not like Connor Clifton, Matt Grzelcyk and Danton Heinen have a big book on him.

What it did was prepare them not to be shocked by Binnington's run this year.

''I wouldn't say I'm surprised,'' Clifton said. ''He was a really good goalie for us last year. Did I see him bringing his team to the Stanley Cup Final? Maybe not. But great for him.''

Binnington and St. Louis are three victories away from the franchise's first championship, thanks in large part to the poise he developed in Providence and elsewhere.

''He's so calm in the net,'' Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist said. ''He's responding so well.''

Cnotes53 · May 31, 2019

Sundqvist faces possible suspension
May 30, 2019
By The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist has been suspended for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final for delivering an elbow to the head of Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.

The NHL's department of player safety announced the suspension Thursday after a hearing with Sundqvist, who was assessed only a two-minute minor penalty for boarding for the hit that knocked Grzelcyk out of the game and possibly longer.

Sundqvist and Grzelcyk are each out for Game 3 Saturday. Grzelcyk didn't travel with the Bruins, and coach Bruce Cassidy said the 25-year-old was in concussion protocol and considered day-to-day.

''I know they're trying to get those hits out of the game,'' Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. Either Steven Kampfer or John Moore will go in for Grzelcyk.

While some Bruins players were reluctant to weigh in on the hit, former Blues captain David Backes was critical in the aftermath of Game 2.

''It's from behind, elevated, into his head, into the glass,'' Backes said. ''If that's a two-minute penalty, I think there's going to be a shortage of defensemen in this series by the end of it. That's in somebody else's hands. That's something I think if I'm making that hit, I'm probably watching from the bleachers for a few.''

Losing Sundqvist is another blow for St. Louis, which had already been without injured forward Robert Thomas and defenseman Vince Dunn.

''He's a big part of our team,'' captain Alex Pietrangelo said about Sundqvist. ''He plays big minutes night in and night out and in every situation.''

Blues coach Craig Berube didn't want to elaborate on Thomas' status but said upon landing that Dunn was close to returning after missing five games for a puck to the face. He gave no indication whether Zach Sanford would step in to the vacant forward spot or if St. Louis might instead dress seven defensemen.

After Robby Fabbri stepped in for Thomas in the Blues' Game 2 overtime victory and defenseman who had sat out are contributing, Berube isn't worried about his team's depth in this situation.

''It's been a big factor, for sure, not only in the playoffs but throughout the last month or two in the season,'' Berube said. ''Our depth is tremendous on the back end and up front. We use everybody. It's been very important.''

Cnotes53 · May 31, 2019

Bruins' top line looks to break out in Cup Final vs. Blues
May 30, 2019
By The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) Bruce Cassidy figures sometime before the puck drops for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Boston Bruins' first line will get together.

Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak will talk about what hasn't gone right so far in the series against the St. Louis Blues and what they need to do better. Maybe assistant Jay Pandolfo will show them some video clips for good measure.

''They're students of the game where they see an opening,'' Cassidy said Thursday. ''Listen, we're in the finals. These are good players they're playing against every night, so they've got to find that little edge and I suspect they'll work hard to do that in Game 3.''

One of Boston's biggest strength through the first three rounds of the playoffs has been virtually nonexistent so far against St. Louis. Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak have zero even-strength points against the defensively sound Blues and will look to break out on the road in Game 3 on Saturday to try to put the Bruins up again in the best-of-seven series.

''We need to capitalize,'' Bergeron said in Boston. ''For us, it's about being better. We've dealt with this this whole playoffs against different lines. It's no different. We know how we can play.''

How they can play is pretty darn dominant. They were responsible for 23 of the Bruins' 32 goals going into the final and exploited matchups against offensive trios similar to the Blues' top line.

That success hasn't materialized - yet - against the Blues, who have tried to get the shutdown defense pairing of Jay Bouwmeester and Colton Parayko against Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak as much as possible. In the first home Cup Final game in St. Louis since 1970, nothing can be said to be certain except a jacked-up atmosphere Bouwmeester and Parayko sticking to that line like glue.

Cassidy gave St. Louis credit for defending well while also predicting his top line won't be held off the scoresheet 5-on-5 forever.

''Usually if they check well, get pucks back, they'll get some odd-man rushes against offensive lines,'' Cassidy said. ''If they support the puck close together, they'll get their chances. If they're able to separate down low against those man-to-man type of defenders, they'll get some chances. They got a few. They haven't finished yet. I wouldn't say that that line has been dormant by any means.''

This is dormant by their standards. Perhaps that's why Pastrak's answer to what he and his linemates could do better was, ''Obviously, maybe produce more?'' That actually starts in the defensive end with getting the puck back and going on the offensive.

''I think executing a little better in our zone - I think it starts there,'' Bergeron said. ''We have to play a little bit more our way, our style.''

That style won't be easy to get do because the Blues get the last line change at home and can dictate the matchups. Coach Craig Berube likes going power on power and leaning on Bouwmeester and Parayko to fill the role they have all playoffs.

''They skate well both those guys and just don't give them a lot of room,'' Berube said. ''It's a very good line. It's hard to handle them for sure. They do a lot of things well. So far it's been pretty good, but we've got to continue to do that. It's a tough line to defend.''

That's preaching to the choir for Toronto, Columbus and Carolina - the teams Boston bulldozed through to get to this point. This is the first time this postseason Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak haven't been able to get on track.

Pastrnak believes the key is getting to loose pucks and producing more chances, which this line certainly is capable of doing.

''We want to spend more time in O-zone and always be stronger on the puck,'' Pastrnak said. ''Once we get to the O-zone, just try to hang on to the pucks and get those second opportunity pucks back to us.''

Because Schwartz, Schenn and Tarasenko are already responsible for three goals in the series, Cassidy expects Berube to try to put them on the ice against the Bruins' first line as much as possible in St. Louis. He also thinks his guys are prepared and eager for that.

''It's a big challenge for Bergy, March and Pastrnak,'' Cassidy said. ''They've been up to it. I don't imagine that will change.''

Cnotes53 · Jun 1, 2019

Saturday?s 6-pack

College football spreads, released by Golden Nugget Thursday:

? Florida (-7.5) vs Miami in Orlando, August 29

? Auburn (-3) vs Oregon in Arlington, TX, August 31

? Stanford at USC (-3) August 31

? Texas (-7) @ West Virginia October 5

? Florida @ LSU (-4.5) October 12

? LSU (-6.5) @ Mississippi State October 19

Quotes of the Day
?You?re out there playing basketball like you did your whole life and it?s the most fun. You lock in ? You got to stay poised.?
Marc Gasol, on playing in the NBA Finals

Saturday?s quiz
Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League are the AA farm club of which major league team?

Friday?s quiz
Steve Kerr was born in Lebanon; his father was president of the American University in Beirut- he was assassinated there in 1984.

Thursday?s quiz
New Hampshire is known as the Granite State.

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

Saturday?s List of 13: Clearing out a cluttered mind??

13) Dodgers? pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers this year for $18M; he?s having a great season, will get a bigger one-year deal next season. Who knows, he may even get a 2-year deal.

Contrast that to Dallas Keuchel, who is sitting out right now because he couldn?t get a multi-year contract. Keuchel would make more than Ryu if he had agreed to a one-year deal, but right now he is making bupkis this season, zero.

Question is, was it Keuchel who didn?t listen to his agent, or the agent who didn?t listen to Keuchel? At some point, the player has to play in order to get paid, right? Either way, it has been an expensive year for the pitcher. He?ll probably sign somewhere fairly soon.

12) Batters are 2-42 with runners in scoring position against Ryu this season.

11) Mets? TV guy Todd Zeile played 16 years in the major leagues; he grew up in the Los Angeles area, went to a lot of Dodger games as a kid. Zeile said on air the other night that his father told him that he didn?t believe Zeile was a major league player until he heard Vin Scully say his name on the air, thats how revered Scully is/was in Tinseltown.

10) New Packers? coach Matt LaFleur tore his achilles tendon playing basketball this week; he is having it operated on Sunday.

9) Since 2008, only two big leaguers have had an OB% of .340+ with 200+ PA in every season:
Joey Votto and???.Shin-Soo Choo

Funny thing about Choo is this; my fantasy team is having a dreadful season, so I?m looking to build for the future a little and Choo is 37- I?ve been looking to move him for prospects but with absolutely no luck, and he is really good. His OPS is .933, which is damn good.

One guy actually thought I was talking about Choi on Tampa Bay, and I?m laughing, thinking ?My team is worse than this guy?s and he doesn?t know who the players are.? Oy.

8) Raptors? coach Nick Nurse was head coach at Grandview College when he was 23 years old; he played at Northern Iowa. There?s a chance one or more of his players at Grandview was older than Nurse was when he was coaching them.

7) Baseball stuff:
? Colorado sent P Kyle Freeland down to AAA.
? Cardinals put C Yadier Molina (thumb) on IL.
? Marlins put 1B Neil Walker (quad) on IL.

6) Tampa Bay Rays have scored in first inning in 25 of their 54 games; they?re 20-5 when they score in the first inning.

Marlins have scored in only nine first innings, fewest in major leagues.

5) Arizona Diamondbacks have seven of the top 75 picks in next week?s baseball draft.

4) My favorite Al Pacino movies:
a) Any Given Sunday
b) Heat
c) Scent of a Woman

3) Cubs/Cardinals are going to play a two-game series next season at London?s West Ham Olympic Stadium on June 13-14, 2020. New York-Boston are heading to London this month.

2) There is a newscaster at WKRN in Nashville named Bob Mueller; you can imagine that the last couple of years have been very interesting for him.

The TV Bob Mueller pronounces his name differently than the lawyer Bob Mueller, but he gets hate mail from people and strange looks when he makes reservations in restaurants. Sometimes real life is stranger than fiction.

1) Los Angeles Angels are driving me nuts with the way they use the ?opener?. Tampa Bay uses Ryan Stanek most every time they use an opener, which makes it easy to chart. Angels use just about all their pitchers- they?ve used nine different openers this season, in addition to their four normal starting pitchers.

Makes me wonder when you?re using minor league pitchers to start a game.

Cnotes53 · Jun 1, 2019

Tarasenko expected to play in Game 3
May 31, 2019
By The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) John Moore is ready for his closeup and the chance to make an impact in the Stanley Cup Final.

Moore is expected to replace injured defenseman Matt Grzelcyk in the Boston Bruins' lineup for Game 3 at the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. Grzelcyk is in concussion protocol and didn't travel with the team, and Moore took his place in practice Friday alongside Connor Clifton.

''This is why you train, why you prepare, why you take care of yourself,'' Moore said. ''When you're called upon, it's time to do your job.''

The series is tied 1-1.

Moore for Grzelcyk is one of a couple holes being filled with injuries and a suspension affecting the plans for coaches Bruce Cassidy of the Bruins and Craig Berube of the Blues. Boston first-line center Patrice Bergeron and Blues first-line winger Vladimir Tarasenko are confirmed to play in Game 3 after each one missed practice for maintenance, but the lineups have to change slightly.

The Blues will be without important grinder Oskar Sundqvist after their only active player with a Cup ring was suspended one game for boarding Grzelcyk and knocking him out of Game 2 on Wednesday night. Zach Sanford is expected to go in the lineup for his first playoff action since the first round, though Berube wouldn't confirm that and said injured forward Robert Thomas was a ''possibility'' to play.

Neither one can replicate exactly what Sundqvist does for St. Louis.

''Does a lot of good things for us on both sides of the puck,'' Berube said. ''Good penalty killer, center, wing, great defensively and has produced for us, too. Good player.''

Sanford hasn't played since Game 3 of the Winnipeg series April 14. That's an even longer layoff than Blues winger Robby Fabbri, who replaced Thomas in Game 2.

''The guys who haven't been playing have done a good job of holding each other accountable,'' Sanford said. ''We've been skating, working out. It's a little different when you get into a game.''

Moore knows all about this stage after playing for the New York Rangers in the 2014 Cup Final against Los Angeles.

''It's definitely one of those things you can take a deep breath, make sure you're focused,'' Moore said. ''There are a lot of distractions at this stage of the playoffs. If anything, I feel I'm more mature to handle that and be focused on my job.''

Cnotes53 · Jun 1, 2019

The Latest: Bergeron expected to play in Game 3 of Cup Final
May 31, 2019
By The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) The Latest on the Stanley Cup Final (all times local):

3:55 p.m.

St. Louis Blues players say there's a buzz in the city for the first Stanley Cup Final game here in 49 years. That view does not extend to Boston Bruins agitator extraordinaire Brad Marchand.

''Every arena has roughly the same amount of people in it, so regardless of where you are in the NHL in the playoffs, you expect it to be loud,'' Marchand said after practice Friday. ''I expect the same tomorrow, but not overly concerned about the fans. More concerned about the game.''

Marchand is the Bruins' leading scorer in the playoffs and sealed their Game 1 victory with an empty-net goal. His antics in these playoffs include intentionally stepping on and breaking the stick of Columbus winger Cam Atkinson, and conducting a Canadian television interview with one- and two-word answers minutes after winning that series.

He and linemates Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak have no even-strength points so far in the series, but Marchand's in fine form off the ice. Asked before Game 1 to describe his style for Blues fans who haven't seen him much up close, Marchand quipped, ''I don't really care what St. Louis fans think of me, so not even going to get into that.''

---

3:10 p.m.

Patrice Bergeron once played a Stanley Cup Final game with broken ribs and a punctured lung. So it's no surprise that he'll be in the Boston Bruins' lineup for Game 3 on Saturday night.

Coach Bruce Cassidy said Bergeron is in against the St. Louis Blues after not practicing Friday afternoon. Karson Kuhlman took Bergeron's spot in line rushes and David Backes filled his spot on the top power-play unit.

John Moore in practice took the spot of injured defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who is in concussion protocol and didn't travel to St. Louis. Cassidy said Moore would probably take Grzelcyk's place because they're both left-handed shooters.

---

2:15 p.m.

Two-time All-Star winger Vladimir Tarasenko is expected to play for the St. Louis Blues in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final after missing practice Friday.

Coach Craig Berube confirmed Tarasenko will play Saturday night against the Boston Bruins in the first home Cup Final game in St. Louis since 1970. Tarasenko missed a big chunk of the second period of Game 2 on Wednesday, which Berube said was an equipment issue not an injury.

The Blues will be without suspended forward Oskar Sundqvist and most likely defenseman Vince Dunn, who has missed four games after taking a puck to the face. Zach Sanford is the most likely option to replace Sundqvist, though Berube said Robert Thomas - who missed Game 3 with a nagging injury - is a possibility to play.

John Moore is expected to fill in for injured Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who is in the concussion protocol and didn't travel with the team.

Cnotes53 · Jun 1, 2019

Blues must balance emotion, discipline at home in Cup Final
May 31, 2019
By The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) Tyler Bozak witnessed the first NHL playoff game in Toronto after a seven-year drought. David Perron experienced the first Stanley Cup Final game in Las Vegas.

They ain't seen nothin' yet.

When the St. Louis Blues host the Boston Bruins in Game 3 on Saturday night, it'll mark the first Stanley Cup Final game in the city in 49 years. That was May 5, 1970, a 6-2 loss to the Bruins in Game 2 of the series that Bobby Orr ended in four games with an overtime goal.

After winning a final game for the first time in franchise history to tie the series at 1-all, the Blues are trying to make their own history at home. To do so, the least-penalized team in the playoffs that went to the box 10 times in the two games in Boston will need to balance feeding off a raucous crowd and getting too overemotional in that charged atmosphere.

''It's going to be extremely special, for sure, to play in front of the Blues fans that have been waiting for it for a long time,'' Perron said Friday. ''You're trying to keep your sticks close to you so you don't trip guys, you don't high-stick guys and sometimes it's just going to happen. It's not a penalty you're trying to take. It happened to me in the first game, and it's very difficult to take. But you've got to be composed with the puck, you've got to be composed with your stick.''

Composure is the Blues' calling card after rallying from the basement of the NHL standings in early January to within three victories of the first championship in franchise history. Their home arena was full for viewing parties for Games 1 and 2, so it's tough for players not to get caught up in the excitement after watching videos of those scenes.

''We're not even here and it's sold out and it's loud,'' Bozak said. ''We're excited.''

Fans are certainly excited. NBC Sports reported the highest local rating on cable for a playoff game, StubHub said the price to get in is $725, the average ticket costs $1,068 and demand is outpacing Game 1 in Las Vegas from a year ago.

''This is a hockey town and they've been with us through the ups and downs,'' center Ryan O'Reilly said. ''I don't think I'll be able to describe what it's going to be like. But from what I've seen I've been very impressed, and we're excited to get home to show what this town's about.''

To show them good hockey, the Blues must try to avoid the penalty problems that plagued them in Boston. They were whistled for high-sticking, hooking, cross-checking, interference and slashing and twice for tripping and goaltender.

Coach Craig Berube, seventh in NHL history with 3,149 penalty minutes mostly for fighting during his playing career, is not happy about his team's lack of discipline so far in the series. St. Louis got here in part because it only took 55 penalties in the first 19 playoff games, and Berube chalks the difference up to too much emotion and harps on it with players because he knows what Saturday night will be like.

''We talk about that a lot,'' Berube said. ''You have to keep your emotions in check.''

That won't be a problem for Bruins agitator extraordinaire Brad Marchand, who days ago made it clear he doesn't care what Blues fans think of him. And that works in reverse, too.

''Every arena has roughly the same amount of people in it, so regardless of where you are in the NHL in the playoffs, you expect it to be loud,'' Marchand said. ''I expect the same tomorrow but not overly concerned about the fans. More concerned about the game.''

What can happen in the game when Boston's playoff-leading power play goes to work is the main reason the Blues want to avoid penalties. The Bruins have only scored on two of their 10 power plays so far, but they've also used that time to generate momentum.

On the flipside, so much time down 5-on-4 also puts wear and tear on the Blues' penalty killers and wreaks havoc on the flow of the game. They'd like to avoid that this time and give their long suffering fans something to cheer about.

''You try not to let the disruption of penalties and power plays affect you whether you're short-handed or on the power play,'' defenseman Robert Bortuzzo said. ''As a player, you just go out and you may be skipped over five shifts because of the disruption or whatnot, but it's easy to get emotionally invested and right back into it when that is the case.''

Cnotes53 · Jun 1, 2019

Cnotes53 · Jun 1, 2019

G3 - Bruins at Blues

Stanley Cup Final Game 3 ? Boston Bruins at St. Louis Blues

The Stanley Cup Final heads to St. Louis for Game 3 on Saturday night on NBCSN, as the Boston Bruins visit the St. Louis Blues. This best-of-seven series is tied 1-1 after the Blues pulled out a 3-2 overtime win in Game 2 on Wednesday.

The scene at Enterprise Center on Saturday night will be crazy, as the Blues play their first home game in the Stanley Cup Finals in nearly 50 years.

Let?s look at Game 3.

Boston Bruins at St. Louis Blues

Date and Time: Saturday, June 1, 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO
Game 3 Odds: Blues -115, O/U 5 Over (-145)
Bruins vs. Blues TV Coverage: NBCSN

The Blues evened up this series as defenseman Carl Gunnarsson scored in overtime to give the Blues a 3-2 win in Game 2 on Wednesday. The teams traded goals in a high scoring first period that ended 2-2 and then neither team scored in the next two periods. Jordan Binnington made 21 saves for the Blues and St. Louis won their first Stanley Cup Final game in history after losing their previous 13.

The Bruins got goals from Charlie Coyle and Joakim Nordstrom and Tuukka Rask made 33 saves for Boston, but the Bruins were outplayed for much of Game 2. The overtime was completely dominated by St. Louis, as the Bruins didn?t even register a shot. The Blues scored after Alexander Steen drew a hooking penalty. "He got a second chance at it and made the most of it," forward Brayden Schenn said to the media about Gunnarsson?s goal. "The boys are happy for him."

The Bruins admitted that they didn?t play as well as they could have on Wednesday. "It was kind of like a crazy first. We got the lead, tie, lead, tie, kind of bounced back and forth," Rask said to the media, "It probably wasn't our best game today."

Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy said to the media that the Blues simply played harder. "They seemed to play with more urgency than they did in Game 1. We played with less. They were on top of us, tighter than in the first game. We didn't seem to win as many races as we did in Game 1," Cassidy said. "Some of that was self-inflicted. Some of that was how they played."

Key Stats

The Bruins are 4-0 in their last 4 road games. The Bruins are 5-1 in their last 6 games as an underdog. The Bruins are 26-8 in their last 34 games playing with 2 days of rest. The Bruins are 45-18 in their last 63 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.

Looking at the total, the Under is 5-0 in the Bruins last 5 road games. The Under is 9-4-1 in the Bruins last 14 games playing with 2 days of rest.

Cnotes53 · Jun 1, 2019

5Boston -6 St Louis
ST LOUIS are 24-7 ATS (17.4 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

Saturday, June 1

Boston @ St. Louis

Game 5-6
June 1, 2019 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Boston
14.843
St. Louis
13.430
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 1 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
St. Louis
-120
5
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(+100); Under

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

NHL
Long Sheet

Saturday, June 1

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

BOSTON (62-29-0-10, 134 pts.) at ST LOUIS (58-34-0-11, 127 pts.) - 6/1/2019, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 61-63 ATS (-28.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 3 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 43-23 ATS (+8.7 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 42-24 ATS (+11.2 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 37-24 ATS (+8.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 25-12 ATS (+12.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
BOSTON is 14-5 ATS (+8.0 Units) in road games on Saturday games over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 26-8 ATS (+13.8 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 37-23 ATS (+7.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 4-4 (+0.5 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
ST LOUIS is 4-4-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
4 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.2 Units)

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

NHL

Saturday, June 1

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

Boston Bruins
Boston is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Boston is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Boston's last 12 games
Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games on the road
Boston is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing St. Louis
Boston is 5-11 SU in its last 16 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Boston's last 9 games when playing on the road against St. Louis

St. Louis Blues
St. Louis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
St. Louis is 1-10 ATS in its last 11 games at home
St. Louis is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games at home
St. Louis is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis's last 6 games when playing Boston
St. Louis is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games when playing at home against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 6 of St. Louis's last 9 games when playing at home against Boston

Cnotes53 · Jun 1, 2019

SATURDAY, JUNE 1
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

BOS at STL 08:00 PM

STL -115

O 5.0

Cnotes53 · Jun 2, 2019

Bruins ruin Blues homecoming with 7-2 thrashing in Game 3
June 1, 2019
By The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) St. Louis was ready to celebrate its first Stanley Cup Final game on home ice in 49 years. The Blues didn't cooperate.

The Blues were the worst team in the NHL for the first part of the season and they looked very much like that team Saturday night in a 7-2 loss that left them trailing the Boston Bruins 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final.

A boisterous crowd that included actors and St. Louis natives Jon Hamm and Jenna Fischer and a number of NFL players were on hand to cheer on the Blues, enjoying some limelight in a city more familiar with celebrating baseball's storied Cardinals or, not all that long ago, the now-departed Rams from the NFL.

The Blues outshot the Bruins 6-0 in the first six minutes and then it was all Boston. The Bruins scored four straight goals, including three in the opening period, and were well on their way to a rout. It is a another disappointing performance on home ice for St. Louis, which fell to 5-6 this postseason as the host while boasting an 8-3 road record.

''I think they (the fans) deserved a better game,'' Blues center Ryan O'Reilly said. ''It's disappointing and not what we wanted. But I think they've been patient all year for us and they'll be with us the next game.''

Patrice Bergeron gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with a power play goal midway through the first period. Boston scored on all four power plays in the game and improved to 6 for 14 with the man advantage in the series.

''We've got to stay out of the box even more,'' said Blues left winger David Perron, who took the penalty that led to the goal. ''The Bruins did a good job and we can't give them life that way. They have a good power play, we knew that, and they capitalized tonight.''

Charlie Coyle made it 2-0 late in the first, but the back-breaker was Sean Kuraly's goal at 19:50. The Blues challenged the call and though replay appeared to show Joakim Nordstrom's skate entering the zone ahead of the puck, the goal stood and the Bruins got a power play, which they converted 41 seconds into the second period to make it 4-0.

Jordan Binnington was pulled for the first time in his career after Torey Krug scored on the power play at 12:12 of the second period. Binnington allowed five goals on 19 shots and was replaced by Jake Allen, who made his first appearance since April 3.

Binnington is 5-2 this postseason following a loss. The 25-year-old rookie was not fazed by the benching and he is expected back in the net for Game 4 Monday night.

''It's the Stanley Cup Final and a lot to play for obviously, but at the same time just play the same way and stay with our game and believe in your teammates and believe in yourself,'' Binnington said.

Colton Parayko scored a power play goal at 5:24 of the third, snapping an 0 for 8 with the man advantage for the Blues in the series. But it was far too little, too late as Boston scored twice in the final two minutes to complete the blowout.

The Blues have come back from adversity before, starting with climbing out of the league cellar on Jan. 3 and overcoming a loss in Game 3 in the Western Conference final to San Jose on an uncalled illegal hand pass that led directly to an overtime goal. They'll have to do it again.

''I think we're confident we will tie the series up,'' O'Reilly said. ''That's our mindset. We still have to talk about a few things, make the adjustments. But we're a good team in here. It was a bad game by us. We didn't do what we wanted, but we're confident we can turn this thing around.''

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Cnotes53 · Jun 2, 2019

SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY JUNE 3, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:08 PM Boston Bruins St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY JUNE 6, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:08 PM St. Louis Blues Boston Bruins TD Garden

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

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

06/01/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.75
05/29/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -13.85
05/27/2019 1-1-0 50.00% +0.00
05/21/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -10.50
05/19/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -11.90
05/17/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -10.50
05/16/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
05/15/2019 1-1-0 50.00% +0.90
05/14/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -11.50
05/13/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -1.50
05/12/2019 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
05/11/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
05/09/2019 0-2-0 0.00% -10.50
05/08/2019 2-0-0 100.00% +10.00
05/07/2019 1-1-0 50.00% -0.50
05/06/2019 1-3-0 25.00% -11.55
05/05/2019 1-0-1 100.00% +5.45
05/04/2019 2-2-0 50.00% -1.00
05/03/2019 1-3-0 25.00% -13.00
05/02/2019 2-2-0 50.00% +0.35
05/01/2019 2-2-0 50.00% -1.00

Totals..............20-31-1 .....39.21% -86.70

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BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS................... ..UNITS..................O/U..................UNITS.............TOTALS

06/01/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00..................1 -0.................+5.00.............+5.00
05/29/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00..................0 - 1.................-5.50..............-5.50
05/27/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.00....................1 - 0................+5.00............+0.00
05/21/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.00....................0 - 1................-5.50.............-10.50
05/19/2019..............0 - 0...................+0.00....................0 - 1................-5.50.............-5.50
05/17/2019..............0 - 1....................-5.00....................0 - 1.................-5.50.............-10.50
05/16/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00...................0 - 1.................-5.50.............-5.50
05/15/2019..............1 - 0....................+6.40...................0 - 1.................-5.50.............+0.90
05/14/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00...................0 - 1.................-5.50..............-5.50
05/13/2019..............0 - 0....................+0.00...................1 - 0.................+5.00.............+5.00
05/12/2019..............1 - 0....................+5.00...................1 - 0.................+5.00.............+10.00
05/11/2019..............0 - 0 .................. +0.00...................0 - 1.................-5.50..............-5.50
05/09/2019..............0 - 1.....................-5.00.................. 0 - 1.................-5.50..............-10.50
05/08/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.00..................1 - 0.................+5.00.............+10.00
05/07/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.00..................0 - 1..................-5.50..............-0.50
05/06/2019..............0 - 1......................-5.00..................1 - 1..................-0.50..............-5.50
05/05/2019..............1 - 0.....................+5.45..................0 - 0................. -0.00.............+5.45
05/04/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................0 - 2.................-11.00.............-11.00
05/03/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................1 - 1..................-0.50...............-0.50
05/02/2019..............1 - 1.....................+0.85..................1 - 1..................-0.50 ..............+0.35
05/01/2019..............0 - 0.....................+0.00..................0 - 2.................-11.00.............-11.00

Totals..................... 6 - 6.....................+2.70................8 - 17...................-53.50............-50.80

Cnotes53 · Jun 2, 2019

Sunday?s 6-pack

Six players taken ahead of Pascal Siakam in the 2016 NBA Draft:

21. Atlanta ? DeAndre Bembry

22. Charlotte ? Malachi Richardson

23. Boston ? Ante Zizic

24. Philadelphia ? Timothe Luwawu

25. LA Clippers ? Brice Johnson

26. Philadelphia ? Furkan Korkmaz

27. Toronto ? Pascal Siakam

Quotes of the Day
?It?s hard to get minutes at Kentucky ? EVEN IF YOU?RE MY SON.?
John Calipari, whose son Brad entered the transfer portal this week

Sunday?s quiz
Which two rivers meet at Pittsburgh?s Point State Park to form the Ohio River?

Saturday?s quiz
Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League are the AA farm club of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Friday?s quiz
Steve Kerr was born in Lebanon; his father was president of the American University in Beirut- he was assassinated there in 1984.

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Sunday?s List of 13: Wrapping up a sports Saturday??

13) New sports book opened in Las Vegas Saturday, at the Golden Gate Casino downtown. Circa Sports is running this book; there will be a new Circa hotel/casino being built downtown soon, which looks like it will be really nice.

12) Friday, someone bid more than $4.5M in a charity auction for the opportunity to have dinner with famed investor Warren Buffett. Wonder what was on the menu?

11) Alex, I?d like Bad Baseball for $500:

Bottom of 3rd inning in Chicago, White Sox have runners on 1st and 2nd, one out, with Yoan Moncada up, the #2 hitter in order. TV analyst Steve Stone predicts a pickoff attempt at 2B, because the shortstop took his glove off. Sure enough, they pick the guy off second, but not only that, they throw to first and pick that genius off, too.

Pitcher is dying on the mound and he gets a double play without throwing a pitch.

Stone is one of the best TV analysts; very smart.

10) Jacob deGrom?s last three starts were against Scherzer, Kershaw, Greinke. Lot of high profile pitching matchups.

9) Baseball stuff:
? Milwaukee put P Gio Gonzalez (arm) on IL.
? Red Sox put 1B Steve Pearce (back) on IL.
? Texas OF Joey Gallo (oblique) left Saturday?s game early

8) Twins 6, Rays 2? Minnesota is now 39-18; last year, they got their 39th win on July 8.

7) College basketball transfer portal:
? Texas A&M?Corpus Christi G Kareem South bolted to California.
? American F Sam Iorio bolts to South Alabama.
? Tennessee Tech grad transfer G Chris McNeal is poached by Cincinnati.

6) Toronto Raptors? big man Pascal Siakam didn?t start playing basketball until he was 17; imagine that?

5) In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Golden State was +2 in the 14:52 when Steph Curry was on the floor and Fred VanVleet wasn?t; they were -11 in the 25:24 with Curry/VanVleet both on floor. VanVleet has done a better job of defending Curry than anyone else in the NBA.

4) Murray State G Ja Morant, who is expected to be the #2 pick in the NBA Draft, is having minor surgery on his right knee, which should sideline him 3-4 weeks and likely means he won?t play in the Las Vegas Summer League in July.

3) Kid on Baylor hit three homers, knocked in 11 runs in a 24-6 rout of Omaha Saturday in the NCAA baseball tournament. 11 RBI in one game doesn?t happen much, at any level.

2) Brewers 12, Pirates 10 (13)? Both closers blew their first save of the year in this 5-hour game; Arcia homered in the 13th for the game-winning runs.

1) There were 1,135 home runs hit in May, breaking the all-time record for a month by 16.

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