BOSTON (AP) If If the St. Louis Blues beat the Boston Bruins in Game 7, perhaps Steve Hatze Petros should get his name on the Stanley Cup.
He is the NHL schedule-maker , making him the most responsible for a January-March stretch when the Blues didnt play more than one consecutive home game at a time. It was a virtual 70-day road trip that forced a team with a half-dozen new faces to come together under coach Craig Berube. It also helped them put up a 9-3 road record in the playoffs and it is a big reason the Blues say they feel totally at home playing for the Cup in Boston on Wednesday night.
It was a time for us to get to know each other better, center Ryan OReilly said. We got out and got away, got the chance to go to the rink together every day, eat together every day. It just kind of brought us together.
I think thats where we found our identity and came together. As you can see throughout the course of the playoffs, were confident in the room. We find it easier to get to our game and have success.
Whichever team gets to its style of game faster and more effectively wins. That has been the story of this hard-fought series between evenly matched teams that like to play different ways.
Boston wants to skate and use its talent to score goals and grab momentum. St. Louis prefers to get pucks deep in the attacking zone, make defenders turn around and then deliver body blows whenever possible.
The Blues front office has tried to replicate life on the road by having players stay in a hotel at home, but they are just 6-7 in St. Louis in the playoffs.
I think when youre at home, youre maybe trying to play a little differently at times, Berube said.
The opening minutes of a 5-1 loss in Game 6 exemplified that. Players abandoned their straightforward approach and got fancy by trying to razzle-dazzle the puck past the Bruins, and when a goal didnt materialize in the first 10 minutes, momentum went the other way.
Thats exactly how the Bruins like it.
We came out pretty well, Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo said. Weve had good starts on the forecheck early, playing assertive, being aggressive and staying right on top of them, not backing down from anything, keeping our gaps tight, forwards are doing a great job on the forecheck and kind of asserting the pace out there.
Who sets the pace could win Game 7.