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Blueshirt Banter’s 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: Stanley Cup Final

Here we go

How did we do in Round 3?

After sweeping the New York Islanders in Round 2, the Carolina Hurricanes were swept by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Final. It was the first time a team that was coming off a sweep was swept in the following round since.... the 2019 Islanders. Before that, it hadn’t happened since the Buffalo Sabres in 1993.

Joe, Adam, Mike, and Bryan all picked the Bruins to reach the Stanley Cup Final in our last batch of predictions. None of us expected the series to end in just four games, though.

In the West, the St. Louis Blues defeated the San Jose Shark since in Game 6 after the Sharks lost a number of mainstays, including Joe Pavelski, Tomas Hertl, and Erik Karlsson. Mike, Kevin, and Miika all predicted the Blues to win — but they either picked it going five or seven games.

Since none of us correctly predicted the right teams and series length, the winner of Round 3 is Mike who went 2-for-2 on his team predictions.

Boston Bruins vs. St. Louis Blues

Here we are, hours away from the Stanley Cup Final between the Bruins and the Blues. To get here, the Bruins battled the Toronto Maple Leafs (7 games), Columbus Blue Jackets (6 games), and Hurricanes (4 games). From the West, we have the Blues, who battled the Winnipeg Jets (6 games), Dallas Stars (7 games), and Sharks (6 games).

This marks the first time the Blues have reached the Stanley Cup Final since 1970 when they were swept by, interestingly enough, the Bruins. This is their fourth appearance in the Final, after reaching it in 1968, 1969, and 1970. However, they are still vying for their first Stanley Cup win.

On the other side of the ice, we have the Bruins. The last time Boston made it this far was back in 2013, when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks. Unlike the Blues, the Bruins have hoisted the Stanley Cup; their last victory in the Cup Final was in 2011 against the Canucks.

So, does St. Louis finally win their first Stanley Cup or does Boston add another championship?

Out of our 11 predictions, six of us have picked the Bruins to move on, while the remaining five of us think we’ll be hearing ‘Gloria’ another four times this postseason.

We’re mostly in agreement that it’ll take six or seven games, but the majority of us think it’ll go six games.

Series Previews: Stanley Cup of Chowder | St. Louis Game Time