BOSTON — A 10-day layoff didn’t do the Boston Bruins any favors. After a little over a period of rust Monday night however, the black and gold appear back on track.
Despite staking the visiting St. Louis Blues a two-goal cushion, Boston returned to the form that has it now three wins away hoisting the Stanley Cup.
Trailing 2-0 early in the second period, the Bruins rattled off four unanswered goals, erasing that deficit en route to a 4-2 victory in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals series at TD Garden.
Vladimir Tarasenko gave the Blues a 2-0 lead just one minute into the second period, as the Bruins came out a step slow after not playing a game for 10 days following their four-game sweep of Carolina in the Eastern Conference finals.
The rust quickly wore off. Connor Clifton got the scoring started, batting in a pass from Sean Kuraly just 1 minutes, 16 seconds after Tarasenko’s goal to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Later in the second period, Charlie McAvoy netted the equalizer, beating St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington from the slot for an unassisted marker that made it a 2-2 game with 7:19 remaining in the stanza.
Boston outshot St. Louis by an 18-3 margin in the second, and carried that momentum in the third in front of a raucous crowd. Kuraly came through with the go-ahead tally, giving the Bruins their first lead of the game when he gained control of a pass from Noel Acciari and buried a shot just inside the near post to make it 3-2.
Brad Marchand corralled a loose puck with 1:49 remaining in regulation, spun and blasted a shot just inside the blue line for an empty-net goal that sealed the deal.
Brayden Schenn potted the first goal of the series, giving the Blues a 1-0 lead 7:23 into the opening period. It was Schenn’s third of the postseason.
Boston’s Tuukka Rask recorded 16 saves to earn his 13th victory of the postseason.
St. Louis, which beat San Jose in six games to win the Western Conference crown, received 34 saves from Binnington in net. The team pulled its goalie with 2:13 remaining in the third period, with Marchand wasting little time in notching the insurance goal.
Game 2 is set for Wednesday night back in Boston. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m.
NOTES: Boston held a 5-2 edge in power-play opportunities. … Final shots were 38-18 in favor of the Bruins. They won 55-percent of faceoffs. … Marchand and David Pastrnak led Boston with a team-high four shots apiece. … Kuraly was the game’s No. 1 star after his two-point night that included the game-winning goal. … Captain Zdeno Chara skated off the ice in the waning seconds after suffering a cut on his arm.