2019 Stanley Cup Final

Lore & Background

This was a rematch of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final, which Boston won in four games. This was the fourth consecutive Final to both involve at least one team vying for its first championship and end with the champion clinching the Cup on the road. It was also the first time since 2011 where the Final went the full seven games. Entering the 2019 Final, the Blues were the only active team from the 1967 NHL expansion to have not won a Stanley Cup.

The Blues' victory resulted in all five of the active 1967 expansion teams obtaining a Stanley Cup title, while the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks became the oldest active expansion franchises to not win one, and the Toronto Maple Leafs became the last active team not to win the Cup since the expansion era. This is the most recent professional sports championship won by a St. Louis-based team, and was the last time the Stanley Cup Final did not feature a team from Florida until 2026.

Reader's Guide

This was the St. Louis Blues' fourth appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. Their last appearance in the Final was in 1970 against the Bruins, which Boston won in a four-game sweep. All of St. Louis' prior appearances came during their first three seasons after the Blues and five other new teams formed the West Division in the 1967 NHL expansion. While the Blues were able to advance past their fellow expansion franchises, each Final appearance ended with them being swept by Original Six teams that comprised the East Division, concluding with their 1970 defeat.

In the years that followed, the other expansion teams from 1967 would win Stanley Cup titles (excluding the defunct California Golden Seals franchise), but the Blues went nearly half a century without reaching the Final again and became the oldest franchise not to win the Stanley Cup. Ryan O'Reilly, who was acquired via trade in the off-season led the team in scoring with 77 points and assists with 49. Vladimir Tarasenko led the team in goal-scoring with 33 goals.

St. Louis struggled early in the regular season, beginning the year with a 7–9–3 record. Head coach Mike Yeo was fired and assistant coach Craig Berube was named interim coach. Their record declined to an NHL-worst 15–18–4 with 34 points on January 2, 2019. However, the Blues went on a 30–10–5 run to finish the season with 99 points, third in the Central Division.

Amid their turnaround, rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington was given his first start and went on to obtain 23 wins. In the playoffs, St. Louis defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4–2 in the first round, eliminated the Dallas Stars in seven games in the second round, and won 4–2 against the San Jose Sharks in the conference finals.