Bruins win over Blues proved they learned their lessons from Cup Final

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“I was saying that unless they brought the Cup to this game, I don’t think it has anything to do with it. Different year, different teams.” -- Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask

Anders Bjork stole some headlines Saturday with his first NHL goal of the season in his second game for the Bruins.

The rookie forward’s been working his way back from a second serious shoulder surgery in as many years, and he started the season with Providence of the American Hockey League. Injuries opened up a spot for him, and he took advantage. He could be the dose of secondary scoring the Bruins need to maintain their hot start, which stands at 6-1-2 after a 3-0 win in the Stanley Cup Final rematch at TD Garden.

But it was the way Bjork’s goal developed that proved four months after the home Game 7 loss to the Blues that the Bruins have finally figured out to beat the Cup champs.

Connor Clifton took a hit from not one, but two Blues forecheckers, before getting the puck out of the zone. Danton Heinen took a hit in the neutral zone as he bumped the puck to Bjork. With three Blues out of position, the Bruins took advantage of an odd-man situation, with Matt Grzelcyk setting up Bjork for the one-timer from the right dot for a 2-0 lead at 9:31 of the second period.

Anders Bjork with the one-timer tally to earn the @JagermeisterUSA Shot of the Game. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/OSI8RBSOu7

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 27, 2019

It won't do anything to change the outcome that happened last June, as the Bruins to a man acknowledged before and after the win, but at least the Bruins have shown they've grown as a team since the Blues wore them down last season. Time and again in that series in June, the Blues tried to beat down the Bruins, even more than just beat them on the scoreboard. And often the Bruins tried to fight right back or go through the Blues. Now they used the Blues’ aggressiveness against them.

“Yeah I think you could kind of use it to your advantage,” Grzelcyk said. “If they’re spending energy coming up the ice looking to finish their check, then you’re hopefully clean coming out of your own zone. Usually you have a jump on them kind of going the other way. As long as you use your smarts to get out of their quick, I think it can be kind of an advantage for us.”

The Blues won the hits race Saturday, 27-22, but the Bruins still brought their own physicality. It took just 32 seconds for captain Zdeno Chara to put a licking on Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist, who’s famous around these parts for concussing Grzelcyk in the Final.

Zdeno Chara greets **Oskar Sundqvist.Sundqvist was the one who drilled Matt Grzelcyk in Game 2. pic.twitter.com/tvqlrLn7o0

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 26, 2019

“Well I think that you know we want to play a strong game,” Chara said. “Obviously I took the hit, it was there and I took it. But I think that it’s important that you play physical throughout the year and in similar situations, and when those opportunities are there you’ve got to take them.”

The Blues overreacted, with two Blues players coming to Sundqvist’s defense. Only an overaggressive referees call prevented the Bruins from getting an early power play, and instead the teams skated 4-on-4.

Connor Clifton threw two reverse minutes after Chara’s big blow.

Things are getting chippy early.This Stanley Cup rematch is shaping up to pickup where it left off physically. #NHLBruins @BruinsCLNS pic.twitter.com/AEp5yslPqt

— Nick Quaglia (@NickQuag) October 26, 2019

Chris Wagner made sure his two credited hits and a few other plays counted in terms of punishing the Blues. The Bruins struck a perfect balance of not getting pushed around, but also playing their game.

They went 1-for-4 on the power play, with David Pastrnak scoring from his happy place in the left circle. They went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, with the quartet of Chara, Brandon Carlo, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron surviving being hemmed in for nearly the entire two minutes of one second-period penalty. Another case of the Bruins’ best being at their best, even if they probably should’ve cleared the puck a couple times sooner and if Tuukka Rask, who finished his second shutout of the season with 26 saves, had to bail out his teammates a couple times.

Alas the Stanley Cup banner still hangs in St. Louis and both the Bruins and Blues are a long way from staging a rematch. But would you bet against them meeting up again on the sport’s biggest stage? Both front offices have proven capable of making the necessary moves during the season to fortify their rosters. Both teams are built around veterans cores with players that have won the Cup or come as close as possible as one can without winning it.

Still so many things have to go right for the two Cup finalists to reunite. At least now we know the Bruins can do the things they need to do right in order to beat the Blues, should they ever have to do it again when the stakes are higher.