Bruins vs. Blues: Game 4 Live Stream, NBC TV Schedule, Odds, Predictions
June 2, 2019
The Boston Bruins have been unstoppable on the road in their last five playoff games.
Over three series, the Bruins have picked up five consecutive wins on their travels, including the Game 3 barnstorming of the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday.
Boston scored a playoff-high seven goals and chased Blues goalie Jordan Binnington after he conceded five goals to the Eastern Conference champion.
In order to keep the Stanley Cup Final from getting out of hand, the Blues must find a way to respond to the Game 3 thumping and come out strong in Monday's Game 4.
The good news for the Blues is they experienced a similar situation in the Western Conference Final against San Jose and ended up winning three straight games after falling at home in Game 3.
Stanley Cup Final Game 4 Information
Date: Monday, June 3
Start Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Sports app
Odds
St. Louis: -110 (bet $110 to win $100)
Boston: -110
Predictions
Binnington Responds to Benching with Strong Game
Binnington was pulled from the net for the first time this postseason in Game 3 after failing to stop Boston's scoring onslaught.
While the outcome was frustrating, Binnington admitted after the game that there is plenty of time for the Blues to rebound, per Fox Sports Midwest.
"Sometimes it's not going to go your way," Binnington said. "It's a long series. We've come this far, and we're going to regroup and come back at them for next game."
Binnington and the Blues have to provide some type of response in Game 4 in order to regain the momentum and stop Boston from taking a 3-1 lead back to TD Garden.
Throughout the postseason, the St. Louis goalie has proved that he can bounce back from poor showings.
Binnington is 2-1 in the postseason with five goals conceded in games directly after giving up five or more goals.
The most recent performance from that collection came in Game 4 against San Jose. Binnington shut down the Sharks by making 29 saves and conceding one goal after letting in five tallies in Game 3.
In fact, Binnington went on to hold the Sharks to two goals in the final three games of the Western Conference Final.
If Binnington is able to rediscover that form by Monday, the Blues will have a good chance to level the series at two games apiece.
Bruins Keep Things Interesting with Power-Play Success
Boston will likely face a tougher challenge from the Blues in Game 4, but it has one advantage that could be the difference-maker: The Bruins scored four times on four shots on the power play in Game 3.
Torey Krug was the catalyst on the man advantage, as he produced one goal and three assists, which made him the fourth player in Stanley Cup Final history to record four power-play points in a single game, per NHL Public Relations:
NHL Public Relations @PR_NHLTorey Krug of the @NHLBruins became the fourth player in NHL history – and second defenseman – to record four power-play points in a game during the #StanleyCup Final. The others: Jean Beliveau (Game 5 in 1965) Denis Potvin (Game 3 in 1980) Joe Sakic (Game 2 in 1996) #NHLStats https://t.co/MkmzxvoyRF
Krug attributed the power-play success to better decision-making and execution in front of the net, per Eric Russo of the team's official website.
"I think it was just a night that everything went right," Krug said. He continued:
"[We] tried to be more decisive and assertive, getting pucks to the net after one or two passes.
"The fact that we knew that someone was gonna shoot the puck off of one or two passes, we allowed our guys to just get to the net in front of the goaltender's eyes and recovered the puck if there's a rebound to be had. Assertiveness and good decision-making."
In addition to Krug, Patrice Bergeron had one goal and two assists on the power play, while David Pastrnak and Marcus Johansson also scored.
Boston might not score four power-play goals in Game 4, but if it finds the back of the net once or twice with a St. Louis player in the penalty box, it could gain a momentum boost at a key point in the contest.
Having success on special teams for the second straight game will not only keep the Bruins in the game, but it will also put more pressure on a Blues team that is close to being backed into a corner.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Hockey Reference.