Preview: Game 7 at Boston

GAME 7 AT BOSTON

BOSTON - After 1,271 regular-season games and another 86 in the playoffs - or 252 days since the season began - it will all come down to one game.
The St. Louis Blues will get a second chance to claim their first-ever Stanley Cup on Wednesday night when they meet the Boston Bruins in Game 7 at TD Garden (7 p.m. CT, NBC, KMOX).
The best-of-seven series is currently tied, 3-3.
The Blues had a chance to finish the series on home ice on Sunday in Game 6, but if there's one thing this group doesn't do, it's do things the easy way.
Remember, this is the same club that was in last place in the League on the morning of Jan. 2 but clawed their way back into the playoff picture. This is the same club that had a 2-0 lead in the opening round against the Winnipeg Jets and went back to Winnipeg for Game 5 tied 2-2. This is the same club that was down 3-2 in the second round to the Dallas Stars before coming back to win Game 7 in double overtime. This is the same club that lost two of the first three games to the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Final but eventually got to the Stanley Cup Final anyway for the first time in 49 years.
Did anyone think that if the Blues were to capture their first Stanley Cup that it would come easy?
None of us should have. That's not this team's way. Of course it would come down to a stressful, anxiety-filled, heart-pounding Game 7.
The story of this 2018-19 Blues is already incredible. Never before have the St. Louis Blues been this close. But a win on the road in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final? Now that would be a storybook ending.

"Maybe that's our story. We have to get it done on the road," Blues forward Ryan O'Reilly said after the team's loss in Game 6. "We're confident. We're a great road team."
They certainly should be.
Away from Enterprise Center in this edition of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Blues are 9-3. They're also 5-0 on the road in games following a loss. Jordan Binnington is 7-2 after getting beat and has posted a 1.86 goals-against average and a .933 save-percentage in that scenario.
"We respond pretty well to adversity. When it's on the line, we tend to get good results," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said. "That's what we're hoping for (Wednesday) obviously. Again, it's going to be a tough game, for sure. We got to put in the effort. You got to execute. That's what it boils down to, executing. Again, maybe getting a couple bounces here and there. It really boils down to execution."

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Craig Berube
On loss in Game 6 and looking ahead to Game 7
"They're already over it. Every kid, every player dreams about a Game 7. They probably played a hundred of them in their heads already as a kid or even adult, whatever. That's over with, Game 6. They've moved on from that already.
On the magnitude of Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final
"I mean, you're going to be nervous. That's natural. You should be. It means you care and you want to do well. But once you drop the puck, you get a shift in or two shifts in, that goes away, you just play hockey."

Alex Pietrangelo
On embracing the opportunity in front of him
"You grew up dreaming about playing in the Stanley Cup Final Game 7. It's what you talked about as a kid. It's a great opportunity. We've played well on the road so we're excited."
Jaden Schwartz
On playing in Game 7 for the Stanley Cup
"I know everyone is very, very excited, anxious to get there. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This is something you dream about."

BY THE NUMBERS

The Blues are 9-8 all-time in Game 7s, while the Bruins are 15-12… Thanks to an overtime victory against the Dallas Stars in Game 7 in the second round, the Blues have 21 players on the roster with Game 7 experience… The winner of Wednesday's Game 7 will become the 13th team in NHL history to win multiple Game 7s on the way to a championship.

BLUE NOTES

O'Reilly has points in five consecutive games (four goals, three assists). With 21 points in the postseason,
O'Reilly is tied for the most-ever by a Blues player in a single postseason
, joining Brett Hull, Doug Gilmour and Bernie Federko… Pietrangelo has more assists (15) and points (17) than any Blues defenseman in a single playoff year… The Blues are 3-1 this season in potential series clinching games.