On Thursday night, the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins met for the first time this season. The game took place at TD Garden in Boston, the same arena where the Blues defeated the Bruins to win their first Stanley Cup back in 2019. But that was the past, and this is the present. In the present, the Bruins defeated the Blues, 5-2. Let’s see how we got here tonight.
Pregame
Thursday was a big night for Blues forward Aleksanteri Kaskimaki. Kaskimaki played in his first NHL game on Thursday. As a result, he had the honor of his rookie lap during the warmups, taking the ice before the rest of the team.
First Period
The Bruins scored first following a misplay by the Blues. After Jordan Kyrou failed to dump into the opposing zone, the Bruins caught the Blues in a line change and had an odd-man rush. Morgan Geekie found Alex Steeves, who one-timed the puck for a 1-0 lead 6:30 into the game.
Later in the period, Steeves won some puck battles in the offensive zone corner. Steeves was able to get the puck free to Elias Lindholm, who passed it in front to Geekie, who scored his 21st goal of the season.
Related: From Waiver Wire to Bruins Sniper: The Evolution of Morgan Geekie
Both teams hit double digits in shots on goal, with the Bruins edging the Blues, 14-10.
Second Period
The Blues cut the lead in half just 1:59 into the second period on a goal by Pavel Buchnevich. It was a big goal for the Blues, who were hoping the early goal would be a turning point in the game.
However, the Bruins would restore their two-goal lead about five minutes later. Viktor Arvidsson picked up his 400th-career point by firing in a rebound from the boards. Pavel Zacha scored his sixth goal of the season at 12:26 to increase the Boston lead to 4-1.
Zacha was not done yet for the second period, although he did cut it close. Following an offensive-zone faceoff win while on the power play, the Bruins got the puck towards the net, and Zacha buried a pass from Geekie with less than a second on the clock.
Despite outscoring the Blues 3-1 in the second period, the Bruins were outshot 15-8.
Third Period
The Blues cut the deficit to 5-2 with just under 11 minutes left. Pius Suter scored on a second-chance attempt in front of the net. That would be the only goal of the period, making the final score 5-2.
The Blues outshot the Bruins 14-5 in the final period. For the game, they outshot them 39-27.
What’s Next?
The Blues head to Canada for their second and final meeting of the season with the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The Bruins also play Saturday, hosting the New Jersey Devils.
