Stanley Cup Final Live Blog Game 4: Blues vs. Bruins

Welcome to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues. NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price is inside Enterprise Center to chronicle the sights, sounds and all the action
from the Blues' 4-2 win on Monday
.

RELATED: [Complete Stanley Cup Final coverage]

10:57 p.m. ET

Somewhere Laura Branigan is smiling, along with the city of St. Louis. The Blues get to play "Gloria" after a 4-2 win in Game 4. It's their first home win in a Stanley Cup Final and ties the best-of-7 series.
Brayden Schenn put the capper on an emotional night at Enterprise Center with an empty-net goal with 1:29 left.
Give credit to St. Louis, it battled all night and overcame giving up a game-tying shorthanded goal in the second period.
They looked shaky at times, but Ryan O'Reilly's two goals were the difference.
The question of Zdeno Chara's health will be a topic in the postgame room.
This is turning out to be the series everyone thought it would be and we are at least going six games.
Game 5 is Thursday in Boston. Should be a blast.

10:50 p.m. ET

We are five minutes from playing "Gloria" as the Blues lead Game 4 3-2, thanks to two Ryan O'Reilly goals. This joint is absolutely jumping.
They are pulling out the big guns on the video board with former St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger coming up on the board to lead into the "Country Roads" sing-along.
The Blues would like another goal, and we will learn a lot about Jordan Binnington in the next five minutes.
Buckle up.

10:40 p.m. ET

The Blues kill off the Bouwmeester penalty with 10 minutes to go, and then score to take a 3-2 lead.
Once again, it's a rebound goal with Ryan O'Reilly picking up a puck that was fired on Tuukka Rask by Alex Pietrangelo.
This place is absolutely nuts right now and the lid nearly got blown off seconds after the O'Reilly goal when Pat Maroon had a great scoring chance, but was stoned by Rask.
We are under nine minutes to go and the fans can feel it.
Once again, we may to give credit to a celebrity shoutout for a goal. First Nelly got it done in the first period, and O'Reilly's goal came second after actor Scott Bakula of "Necessary Roughness" fame was shown on the big board.

10:31 p.m. ET

The Blues have had trouble on the power play tonight. Not only are they 0-for-3 on the power play, they allowed the game-tying goal to Brandon Carlo while shorthanded.
Their third power-play chance came at 2:08 of the third when Danton Heinen was whistled for tripping Jaden Schwartz.
Meanwhile, though Zdeno Chara is on the Bruins bench in a full face shield, he has yet to get on the ice for the first five minutes. He spent most of the second period in the dressing room after getting hit in the face with a puck.
Now it's the Bruins to the power play after Jay Bouwmeester takes a high-sticking penalty.
It's a bit tense in here, but the Kiss Cam lightened things up a bit, especially when they showed a Bruins fan by himself. That's not nice.

10:25 p.m. ET

The third period has begun and defenseman Zdeno Chara is back on the ice. It's a huge sigh of relief for the Bruins, who are already without Matt Grzelcyk, who was injured in Game 2.
He's wearing a full face shield, so the puck to face clearly did some damage.
The Blues fans are making noise again, hoping to push their team to a win in this crucial Game 4.
On a personal note, I need to stop eating brownies. Almost everywhere you go in this Cup Final, there are brownies and lots of them.
As far as I can tell, Shawn Roarke has not snuck out to catch a glimpse of Judas Priest.

10:10 p.m. ET

We are through two periods and there is a lot to keep an eye on.
First, Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, who was hit in the face with a puck at 3:08 of the second period and didn't come back for the rest of the way. With the Bruins already down Matt Grzelcyk, who was injured in Game 2, their defense is thin.
As for the Blues, they look a bit tentative and slow on offense, especially after allowing the game-tying goal shorthanded.

It's certainly a lot quieter in here now as compared to the start of the game and after the Blues went ahead 2-1.
We are about 10 minutes away from what will likely be the most important period of this series to this point.

9:55 p.m. ET

With the Blues looking to go up two goals on the power play, it's the Bruins who score a shorthanded goal by Brandon Carlo, who picked up a juicy rebound off a Patrice Bergeron shot.
Brad Marchand was able to flip to puck between Vince Dunn and Ryan O'Reilly to set up a 2-on-1 between Bergeron, Carlo and Vladimir Tarasenko. Bergeron's shot hit Binnington and it went right to Carlo.
What a turn of events here for the Blues and Bruins. Carlo is the 20th Bruins player to score a goal in the playoffs, which is an amazing number.
The Blues fans, who were ready to rock at the start of the power play, are certainly trying to get the energy level back up.
We are tied 2-2 with four minutes left in the period after the Bruins kill off the Coyle penalty.

9:52 p.m. ET

The Blues avoid their first crisis of the night and kill off a Colton Parayko delay of game penalty. Ryan O'Reilly nearly scored a short-handed goal early in the kill, and the Blues, thanks to a key block by Alexander Steen, were able to kill it off.
What followed was a period of extended pressure by the Blues that resulted in several great scoring chances and eventually a two-minute penalty on Connor Clifton for a hit to the head of Vladimir Tarasenko.
You get the feeling a Blues goal here would blow the lid off this Blues. The Blues are dominating play for the past few minutes and there is still no sign of Zdeno Chara, who went off after being hit in the face with a puck.
The Bruins are trying to hold on here with a big penalty kill coming up.

9:40 p.m.

There are 12:03 left in the second period and the Blues lead it 2-1.
The Blues got the first power play of the game after Charlie Coyle went to the box at 5:47 for high-sticking. But the Bruins, with Zdeno Chara still in the room getting repairs, were able to kill it off.
The Blues appeared to be looking for the perfect shot instead of firing away at Rask. The crowd was getting impatient, screaming "shoooot" each team a member of the Blues touched the puck.

9:33 p.m. ET

We have an injury development as Bruins defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara has left the ice after taking a puck to his face. A shot from Brayden Schenn deflected off Chara's stick right into his face at the 3:08 mark.
This is a big 20 minutes for the Blues. The Bruins have not played great but are down 2-1 and are in striking distance. For all intents and purposes, they are playing with house money here. They already got the road split they needed. Worst-case scenario they go home 2-2 with two of the next three games at home.
However, they displayed the ability to put a team away when they swept the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes and won three games in a row to finish off the Columbus Blue Jackets in six games in the second round.
The Bruins nearly scored early in the period when Binnington lost sight of loose puck that feel between his pads, but fortunately for him, didn't trickle in.

9:12 p.m. ET

We are through the first 20 minutes and the Blues lead it 2-1. St. Louis came out strong and scored in the first minute, but the Bruins were able to tie it on a goal by Charlie Coyle at 13:14. But showing the resiliency they have demonstrated all season, the Blues retook the lead at 15:30 on Vladimir Tarasenko's 11th goal of the playoffs.
For Coyle, it was his third goal in as many games, and he's the third player in as many years to score in three straight games in the Final, joining Devante Smith-Pelly of the Washington Capitals and Jake Guentzel of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In case you have forgotten, the Capitals and Penguins each won the Stanley Cup.
We are going to take a breather here while the ice gets cleaned up and the players get some rest. This is certainly shaping up to be a classic.

9:10 p.m. ET

The Blues are back on top. Vladimir Tarasenko picks up the rebound of a shot by Alex Pietrangelo at 15:30. The play started when Colton Parayko broke up a chance by the Bruins in their zone. The puck eventually went to Brayden Schenn, who fed Pietrangelo for an open shot in the slot. Tuukka Rask made the initial save, but Tarasenko was there to bang it home.
Parayko will not get an assist on the goal, but his breakup was big. Nelly also will not get an assist on the goal, but his appearance on the video board came seconds before the goal.
This joint is jumping again, and the Blues are clearly feeling more comfortable and confident in their game right now.
We have about three minutes left in the first period and St. Louis leads 2-1.

9:01 p.m. ET

We have a tie game with 6:46 left in the first after Charlie Coyle scored on the doorstep after picking up a rebound on a shot from Zdeno Chara that appeared to be deflected by Coyle.
Chara's shot seemed to handcuff Binnington, and Coyle was right there to pick it up and scored.

The line of Coyle, Marcus Johansson and Danton Heinen has been the Bruins' best so far tonight.
The goal is certainly a tough blow for the Blues, who get off to such a fast start.
But just when the crowd needs a lift, Nelly appears on the videoboard to get everyone fired up.

8:50 p.m. ET

Blues goalie Jordan Binnington hasn't really been tested in the first 10 minutes of the game. He has stopped all six shots from the Bruins, but most have been from long range. He has gotten a good look at all of them, making seemingly easy glove saves.
The Blues have certainly carried the play in the first half of this period, swarming Tuukka Rask's net, but still have the Ryan O'Reilly goal at 43 seconds to show for it.
Charles Glenn has gotten the crowd fired up with a stirring rendition of the "When The Blues Go Marching In."
This place is jumping right now, the O'Reilly goal has helped that, but there is still a bit of nervous tension in here. Everyone knows just how big this game is.
We have another celebrity sighting, and this a big one. Wayne Gretzky, The Great One, is here and got a nice ovation as he was shown on the jumbotron. Wayne and actor Jon Hamm were guests on a Facebook Live show outside the arena before the game.

8:40 p.m. ET

The Blues clearly have the upper hand early. They nearly scored at the 3:51 mark when Colton Parayko put a shot on goal and David Perron nearly banged it in past Tuukka Rask on the doorstep.
The Perron-Rask factor will be one to watch tonight. Perron and the Blues were trying to get under Rask's skin in Game 3 and expect more of that in Game 4. The Bruins goalie, to this point in the playoffs, has been unflappable, but the Blues don't seem to care.
About 40 seconds after Perron was on the doorstep, teammate Brayden Schenn gave Rask a little bump after he made a save.
The Blues are swarming the Bruins net, peppering Rask, but it's ONLY 1-0 six minutes into the game.

8:30 p.m. ET

The Blues get just what they need to get this game going. Ryan O'Reilly scores on a wraparound 43 seconds into the game and it's 1-0 for the home team.

Zach Sanford, who came into the lineup for the suspended Oskar Sundqvist in Game 3, and Vince Dunn, playing for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final, assisted on the goals.
The goal game seconds after the Blues showed Cardinals stars Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright on the big screen.
Charles Glenn got things going with another stirring rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." If the Blues don't win this game, it could be the last time we see Glenn perform here as he's retiring after this season.
He is clearly a fan favorite. Before game, he was walking through the concourse and fans were stopping to take pictures of him.

8:15 p.m. ET

We are five minutes away from puck drop in what is - to this point - the biggest Blues game of the season and maybe in their history.
For all they have accomplished this season - making the playoffs after being in last place in the League on Jan. 3, defeating the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks in the playoffs - coming back from down 3-1 against this Bruins team might be asking too much.
A few things to look for early here.
- Will rookie goalie Jordan Binnington put his rough Game 3 behind him and bring some calmness back to the Blues, who certainly look rattled and out of character at times in their 7-2 loss.
- Will the Bruins line of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron carry over their strong play from Game 3 to this one?
- Can the Blues stay out of the penalty box? If they continue to put the Bruins on the power play, they could be in for another long night. Boston is 6-for-14 on the power play in this series, including scoring on all four of its chances on Saturday.
- What will be the impact of having Vince Dunn and Oskar Sundqvist back in the lineup for the Blues?
A video of the The Funky Butt Brass band was just shown on the jumbotron. They're no Judas Priest, but the crowd that is getting louder as we approach the start of the game, doesn't seem to mind.

7:40 p.m. ET

It must be throwback day here in St. Louis. On the streets there was a vast array of fans wearing jerseys of Blues players of the past. Off course there were plenty of Brett Hull No. 16 sweaters to be seen, but also spotted were T.J. Oshie, Kevin Shattenkirk and Bob Plager Blues jerseys. My favorite -- from a hockey standpoint - was the Brendan Shanahan jersey, but my all-time favorite was the Sam Bradford St. Louis Rams jersey being worn by a guy in his 20s outside the arena. Honestly, how does anyone in St. Louis still have that jersey?

We had our first celebrity sighting of the night. As me and staff writer Tracey Myers were heading out of the arena to do some crowd work, we spotted Rob Halford and Judas Priest walking into the Stifel Theatre for their show tonight. Needless to say, this news did not go over our resident metal head Shawn P. Roarke, who was still inside.
The excitement is building as we are about 30 minutes from puck drop.

7:16 p.m. ET

Despite the Blues being down 2-1 in the best-of-7 series, the fans in this city were just as enthusiastic as they were before Game 3. Still, there is much more at stake for the Blues tonight, as they need a win to avoid going back to Boston down 3-1.
Gary Clark Jr. got the crowd going with a pregame concert just down the street from Enterprise Arena, and then actor and Blues fan Jon Hamm and The Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky, did a Facebook live show for the NHL.
But wait, there's more. In addition to Game 4 being played at Enterprise Center, Judas Priest is playing in the adjoining Stifel Theatre, so the street is filled with a mix of hockey fans and metal heads. Speaking of which, I have to keep an eye on Shawn P. Roarke, who I'm sure will try to get a glimpse of Rob Halford and the boys between periods.
Listen, if he ducks out for a few minutes, he wouldn't be breaking the law or anything, but he's got another thing coming if he thinks he's going to stay there all night. Sorry, couldn't resist.
The Blues and Bruins will be on the ice soon. I'll be back.