May 27, 2019; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) reacts after scoring an empty-net goal against the St. Louis Blues during the third period in game one of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
(Reuters) – The Boston Bruins overcame a sluggish start and erased a two-goal deficit to beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 and draw first blood in the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Final on Monday.
The host Bruins used a dominant second period to tie the game and grabbed their first lead of the night when Sean Kuraly corralled a cross-ice pass with his foot and tapped the puck in the Blues net five minutes into the third period.
Brad Marchand added an empty-net goal with two minutes to play to seal a victory that gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven games championship series.
Boston, who had a 10-day layoff after sweeping Carolina in the Eastern Conference final, looked out of sorts early and were staring at a two-goal deficit when Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko scored one minute into the second period.
The Bruins stormed back 76 seconds later when a cross-ice pass from Kuraly deflected off rookie defenseman Connor Clifton’s skate and into the Blues net.
Boston tied the game on the powerplay when Charlie McAvoy fired a wrister from the slot under the glove of Blues goalie Jordan Binnington with seven minutes left in the second.
St. Louis forward Brayden Schenn opened the scoring seven minutes into the game.
The series resumes on Wednesday in Boston.
Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Peter Rutherford
