St Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues will be without center Ivan Barbashev because of a one-game suspension when they try to close out the Stanley Cup Final Sunday.

Per NHL Player Safety, Barbashev won't be available for Game 6 for an illegal check to the head of Boston Bruins forward Marcus Johansson.

The hit occurred during the first period of St. Louis' 2-1 win in Game 5 Thursday but didn't warrant a penalty call from the officials. 

Ivan Barbashev with a high hit on Marcus Johansson.

Clean or dirty hit? 🤔#StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/lok8yHC3qD

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 7, 2019

Johansson remained on the ice for a few seconds but was able to finish the game without any apparent issues. 

The Blues have been very aggressive and physical throughout this series. Oskar Sundqvist was suspended for Game 3 due to an illegal boarding hit on Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. That play did result in a two-minute minor penalty during the game. 

Barbashev has just one point in the first five games against Boston.

St. Louis will host Game 6 with a chance to close out the Stanley Cup Final and win the franchise's first-ever championship. 

The St. Louis Blues are now heavily favored to win the 2019 Stanley Cup Final after their Game 5 road victory over the Boston Bruins gave them a 3-2 series advantage.

St. Louis entered Thursday night's contest as the underdog, but the odds unsurprisingly flipped with the Blues now one win from the first championship in franchise history:

Updated Stanley Cup odds:

Blues -290, Bruins +245

(Odds via @CaesarsPalace) pic.twitter.com/ISoKGzM9kn

— br_betting (@br_betting) June 7, 2019

Ryan O'Reilly opened the scoring for the visitors less than a minute into the second period, and David Perron increased the lead to 2-0 midway through the third in controversial fashion.

The goal came moments after Boston felt a tripping penalty should have been called on the Blues' Tyler Bozak.

Noel Acciari is tripped. St. Louis scores. Unbelievable.

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) June 7, 2019

Jake DeBrusk scored with just over six minutes remaining to get the Bruins back in the game, but they were unable to net an equalizer despite consistent pressure down the stretch.

"I'm a fan of the game. This is the National Hockey League, it's getting a black eye with their officiating this playoffs," Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters after Game 5. "It was egregious."

The Bruins must now win Game 6 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis to keep their title hopes alive.

Faceoff in the potential clinching game is scheduled for Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.  

The St. Louis Blues are sticking with Jordan Binnington in net despite him giving up five goals on 19 shots in their 7-2 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. 

"In his bounce-back games, it's just his calmness and his mannerisms more than anything," coach Craig Berube said, per Greg Wyshynski of ESPN. "I think he goes back in there and he feels real confident about himself. Early on in games a lot of times you see his puck-handling ability and I know that he's dialed pretty well when I notice that kind of stuff."

The rookie, who had been stellar throughout the Blues' postseason run, turned in a career-worst performance in Game 3. The Bruins consistently found him out of position and racked up five goals, leading Berube to replace him with Jake Allen for the first time this season.

"I've got to do a better job giving the team a chance to win,” Binnington told reporters. "They're a good hockey team and we've got to get back to our game and stay focused.”

Binnington's teammates came to their goaltender's defense, saying they believe he'll bounce back in Game 4.

"He's just so even-keeled,” center Ryan O'Reilly said. "No matter what situation it is, winning or losing, you see him, he's focused and he's on to the next. And I think that's something we all admire about him. He leads the way in that. It's something we have to follow. There are a lot of things we have to do better in front of him.”

The Blues are 6-2 in games started by Binnington following a loss this postseason. They'll need that mark to move to 7-2 in Game 4 if they hope to have any real chance at hoisting a Stanley Cup. Losing both games at home would put St. Louis in a 3-1 deficit heading back to Boston.

Binnington, 25, is 13-9 overall with a 2.54 goals against average during the playoffs. 

St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington took his disappointing Game 3 performance in stride after his team lost 7-2 to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday.

Binnington played a little over 32 minutes, allowing five goals on 19 shots. Jake Allen took over midway through the second period.

"I gotta be better," Binnington said of getting subbed out, per ESPN.com's Greg Wyshynski. "I gotta do a better job giving my team a chance to win. They scored three goals in the first. That's never good. It is what it is, right? It's a loss. I'm not happy with that."

The 25-year-old rookie was excellent in the regular season, finishing first in goals-against average (1.89) and tied for fourth in save percentage (.927). However, it seemed fair to wonder whether a player with just 30 starts under his belt might slip a bit on the biggest stage of his career.

Wondered if and when the shoe would fall this season for Binnington. Boy I really hope it's not NOW, this close to the finish line for them...

— Kristopher Martel (@kmartel_sports) June 2, 2019

Binnington appears to be falling back to earth at an inopportune time for the Blues, who find themselves down 2-1 in the series.

If he doesn't bounce back in Game 4 on Monday, St. Louis' title hopes will almost certainly evaporate.

The St. Louis Blues will play a Stanley Cup Final game for the first time since 1970 on Monday night, and the team is honoring those beyond just the players and coaches who helped it along the way.

According to Chris Pinkert of the Blues' official website, the Blues are taking every full-time front office employee to Games 1 and 2 of the series against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. The employees flew to Boston for the Monday and Wednesday games on chartered flights along with the families of players and coaches.

The Blues extended an awesome gesture to all of their full-time employees https://t.co/hBRMUd0V37 pic.twitter.com/Mcou8NBTOu

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 27, 2019

The Blues shared a video of the employees on their Instagram page.

"Creating a successful team on and off the ice is a monumental task," Blues president and CEO Chris Zimmerman said. "We ask a lot of our staff to deliver the best possible experience in every part of our business. Our decision to bring both our core business team and the player's wives recognizes both the sacrifices and commitment we ask of our entire Blues family to reach the Stanley Cup Final."

St. Louis has never lifted the Stanley Cup in franchise history and is facing a daunting task against the Bruins, who are coming off a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.

It at least knows it will have some additional support in enemy territory when the puck drops Monday.

The St. Louis Blues have never hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup in their 52-year history, but that didn't stop fan Scott Berry from putting a good amount of money on his favorite team.

Now, it's on the verge of paying off in a big way.

According to ESPN.com's Ben Fawkes, Berry was in Las Vegas in January when he decided to make a couple of wagers at a Caesars sportsbook.

"I bet with the heart on this one," Berry told Fawkes. "Before I hit my flight, I decided that had I been here gambling, I probably would've lost around $500, so I pulled that out of the bank account. My max withdrawal was $500, so that was all I could take out. I put $100 on the Cardinals at 15-1 and dumped the rest on the Blues."

The Blues held 250-1 odds at the time, so he is five wins from a $100,000 payday.

When he placed the bet, though, there was no guarantee the squad would even make the postseason. As of Jan. 21, St. Louis was 21-22-5...and then it won a franchise-record 11 games in a row.

"Preseason, I knew they had a good squad," Berry told Fawkes. "But I'm no pro. My brother and father are a little more risk-averse than I am. They probably thought I was an idiot."

St. Louis (45-28-9, 99 points) finished fifth in the Western Conference during the regular season. The Blues have since taken down the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars in the playoffs and hold a 3-2 series lead over the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Final.

As a result, they are on the verge of their first Stanley Cup Final berth since 1970.

Boston, a city that is no stranger to championships, has the chance for another one in the coming weeks.

After the Red Sox won the World Series in 2018 and the New England Patriots triumphed in the 2019 Super Bowl, the Bruins now have a chance to bring home another trophy to the successful city with the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

The Bruins have already guaranteed themselves a spot after not allowing the Carolina Hurricanes a single win in the Eastern Conference Finals—locking their playoff appearance on Thursday with a 4-0 win over the Canes. 

In an impressive showing, Boston won three of its four Conference Finals games by at least three goals, with only Game 3 close with a 2-1 final score in the Bruins' favor.

The St. Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks, on the other hand, are in a tight battle in the Western Conference Finals for the other Stanley Cup Finals spot. 

The two teams have gone back and forth in the series, and the Blues put on an impressive performance to demolish the Sharks 5-0 and take the series lead in Game 5.

With a win on Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues can clinch the Western Conference title and move on to face the Bruins in the Stanley Cup. While the Bruins are currently favored to win the Stanley Cup over either of the two Western Conference teams, the Blues have shown they have what it takes to come back no matter the deficit—as they did against the Dallas Stars in Round 2.

Here's a look at the schedule for the remaining Western Conference Finals games, as well as odds and analysis for the matchup between San Jose and St. Louis.

       

Remaining Conference Finals Schedule (All times ET)

Tuesday, May 21

Game 6: San Jose at St. Louis, 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network

     

Thursday, May 23*

Game 7: St. Louis at San Jose, 9 p.m., NBC Sports Network (if necessary)

      

Western Conference Finals Odds

St. Louis Blues 2-9

San Jose Sharks 10-3

Odds via Oddschecker

This is not the first time these two teams have met in the Conference Finals, with the Sharks beating the Blues 2-4 in the 2015-2016 Conference Finals and moving on to face the Pittsburg Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals.

San Jose went on to lose to Pittsburgh 2-4, dashing its first chance at a Stanley Cup title. 

That was the only Conference Finals title for either of the teams, with St. Louis never having reached the Stanley Cup.

Both teams are hungry for a chance at the Stanley Cup and to take down Goliath in the Boston Bruins. The Sharks are also looking to make up for their zero-goal performance in Game 5, so they will come out aggressive from the start of the game—as they've only scored one goal in the last two matchups.

Despite the odds being in their favor and an ability to clinch the series with a win, the Blues are not getting ahead of themselves.

"We're not getting too high," said defenseman Joel Edmundson, according to nhl.com. "We've got one more game. Hopefully we can close it out. If not, we'll come back here and try it again." 

St. Louis' Jaden Schwartz had an incredible game in the Blues' 5-0 win with three goals and leads the team for goals in the postseason with 12. Another performance like that from the left wing forward could just about finish it for the Blues. Alongside St. Louis native Pat Maroon and the second-leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko, the Blues look good going into Game 6.

If anyone can get the Sharks out of their shooting slump its centers and leading postseason scores Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl, who have 14 and 10 goals, respectively. However, Hertl did not play in the last period of Game 5 and is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, according to ESPN.

The Sharks will need Hertl in full health and Couture playing at his best in Game 6 if they want a chance at Game 7 and a Stanley Cup appearance.

The St. Louis Blues had apparently seen enough of head coach Mike Yeo after a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday dropped their record to 7-9-3 for a Central Division-worst 17 points.

St. Louis announced it fired Yeo and gave the interim position to Craig Berube. The team will address the move with a Tuesday morning press conference.

This is another major coaching move in the first half of the season in the Central Division after the rival Chicago Blackhawks fired three-time Stanley Cup winner Joel Quenneville on Nov. 6.

Yeo had been with the Blues since he replaced Ken Hitchcock in February 2017. The team brought him in as a coach in waiting for Hitchcock—who planned on retiring after the 2016-17 campaign—but ultimately elevated Yeo to the primary job during the season.

Yeo tallied a 73-49-11 with St. Louis, although the team missed the playoffs last season after making it the prior six. According to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the coach had just one more season on his contract after the 2018-19 one ended.

He was the head coach of the Minnesota Wild prior to taking the St. Louis job and posted a 173-132-44 record from the 2011-12 season into the 2015-16 campaign before he was fired.

Attention now turns to Berube, who has been with the franchise as an associate head coach since June 2017. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013 through 2015 and finished with a 75-58-28 record, and the team's announcement pointed out he led the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League to a 44-19-13 record in 2016-17.

He inherits a struggling team that is seven points behind the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars in the race for the Western Conference's two wild-card positions.

The St. Louis Blues announced Wednesday Robby Fabbri re-injured his knee and will miss the entire 2017-18 season.

The center tore the ACL in his left knee in February and was cleared to return in July, but a new injury will keep him off the ice for an extended period of time.

Fabbri made his first appearance of the preseason on Friday against the Washington Capitals, playing just over 19 minutes while taking three shots on goal. He was all smiles immediately after the game.

"I felt good," he said, per Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It was exciting. It was good to get back out there again. You really see the difference there in a game than in a scrimmage against the guys. I thought it was a good first game. I’m glad to get my feet wet and keep going from here."

Unfortunately, he was a scratch the next day, and the Blues later announced he would miss the rest of training camp with an injury to the same knee.

Now it appears it will be an even longer road back for the 21-year-old.

Fabbri has shown bright flashes when on the ice. The 2014 first-round pick has appeared in 123 games for St. Louis, totaling 29 goals and 37 assists in his career. He still has plenty of potential whether he is playing at center or on the wing, but it is unknown if he will ever be 100 percent.

With forwards Patrik Berglund, Zachary Sanford and Alex Steen also injured, the Blues could be light on depth heading into the regular season.

Arianna Dougon has endured some of the biggest fights of her life and along her side stands the entire St. Louis Blue roster. 

Watch Arianna's story above.