2019 Stanley Cup Final

Paths to the Final

This was the eleventh meeting between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship, including four World Series, four NBA Finals, Super Bowl XXXVI, and the 1970 Stanley Cup Final. The Boston Bruins made their 20th appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, six years after losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games; their last Cup win came against the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. Brad Marchand became the first Bruin since the 2005–06 season to score 100 points, finishing with 100 in 79 games.

David Pastrnak led the team with 38 goals. Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak split goaltending duties during the regular season, and the Bruins acquired forwards Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson near the trade deadline. Boston finished with 107 points, second in the Atlantic Division and third overall. In the playoffs, they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games, the Columbus Blue Jackets 4–2, and swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference finals.

The St. Louis Blues made their fourth Final appearance; all prior appearances came in their first three seasons after the 1967 NHL expansion, each ending in a sweep by Original Six teams, including the 1970 loss to Boston. The Blues became the oldest franchise not to win the Cup until this victory. Ryan O'Reilly, acquired via trade, led the team with 77 points and 49 assists; Vladimir Tarasenko led in goals with 33.

Game summaries

In game one, Brayden Schenn scored the first goal for the Blues, and Vladimir Tarasenko doubled the lead after a David Pastrnak turnover. Boston tied the game on goals by Connor Clifton and Charlie McAvoy, then took the lead on a Sean Kuraly goal. Brad Marchand sealed the Bruins' victory with an empty-net goal. In game two, Boston scored first on a Charlie Coyle power-play goal. The Blues tied it on a Robert Bortuzzo shot deflected off Matt Grzelcyk, but Joakim Nordstrom restored Boston's lead 40 seconds later. Vladimir Tarasenko tied the game again. After a scoreless second period, the game went to overtime. During overtime, a delayed penalty on Brandon Carlo allowed Carl Gunnarsson to score a slap shot, giving St. Louis its first Final victory and tying the series 1–1.

Stanley Cup engraving

The Stanley Cup was presented to Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after the Blues' 4–1 win in game seven. The following Blues players and staff had their names engraved: Michael Del Zotto, who played 7 regular season games for St. Louis and was a healthy scratch for the playoffs, was included via an exemption. Six players on the roster during the Final were left off the engraving because they did not qualify, as none played in or dressed for the playoffs: Mackenzie MacEachern (29 regular season games), Jordan Nolan (14 regular season games, previously engraved with Los Angeles), Chris Butler (13 regular season games), Chris Thorburn (1 regular season game), Ville Husso (0 regular season games), and Mitch Reinke (0 regular season games).

Television and radio

The 2019 Stanley Cup Final drew a U.S. average of 5.3 million viewers across its seven games, the highest for a final since 2015. Game 7 alone averaged 8.7 million viewers, the most-watched NHL game in nearly 50 years. In Canada, English coverage aired on Sportsnet and CBC, with French coverage on TVA Sports. American broadcasts were split between NBC (Games 1, 4-7) and NBCSN (Games 2-3). St. Louis posted a 28.7 average rating, while Boston had a 25.5.