Stanley Cup Final Live Blog Game 7: Blues vs. Bruins

Welcome to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues. NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price is inside TD Garden to chronicle the sights, sounds from the Blues' historic 4-1 victory.

RELATED: [Complete Stanley Cup Final coverage]

10:42 p.m. ET

Play "Gloria." The Blues are Stanley Cup champions.
They capped their incredible season with a 4-1 win in Game 7 at TD Garden, where they won three times in the Final, including three in a row.
Credit rookie goalie Jordan Binnington for keeping them in the game early and credit the Blues who played a solid defensive game and pounced on every Bruins mistake.
What a story these Blues are. Last place on Jan. 3 and turning to a rookie goalie, who would not only save their season, but help lead them to their first Stanley Cup.
It's the second straight season a team has won the Stanley Cup for the first time.
We are heading down the ice for the celebration.
Thanks for reading along this entire series. I hope you enjoyed it a much as we did.

10:35 p.m. ET

There are under four minutes to play in Game 7 and this Boston crowd is stunned.
The Blues lead 4-0 and appear headed for their first Stanley Cup. They have goals from Ryan O'Reilly, Alex Pietrangelo, Brayden Schenn and Zach Sanford, a Boston kid.

It certainly appears the city of Boston's championship run will come to an end here.
Stunning.

10:28 p.m. ET

Don't play "Gloria" just yet but getting it ready might not be a bad idea.
The Blues are ahead 3-0 with under eight minutes in regulation after Brayden Schenn scored on a beautiful feed in the slot from Vladimir Tarasenko.
This crowd and the Bruins are stunned. The goal at 12:25 came about two minutes after Jordan Binnington robbed Joakim Nordstrom on the doorstep.
The Bruins, who are outshooting the Blues 30-16, are in trouble, especially with how Binnington is playing.

10:25 p.m. ET

There are under 10 minutes left in regulation the Blues are ahead 2-0. The TD Garden crowd is still loud, but their frustration is starting to become apparent.
The Bruins have to be frustrated too as their high-powered offense is having trouble generating any serious chances. The Blues have been poised and patient, and even if they have a breakdown, like they did with 11:07 left in the third, Binnington is there to save them, making an incredible pad save on Joakim Nordstrom to keep the Bruins off the board.
The Bruins are running out of time as the Blues are less than half a period away from their first Stanley Cup title.

10:15 p.m. ET

The Bruins are trying to get on the board, but the Blues have been up to task, breaking up passes, blocking shots and taking the body when a Bruins player goes to the net. And if a shot gets through, Jordan Binnington is there to stop it.
The Blues, though playing tight defense, had two good scoring chances, the first at 3:08 when Ivan Barbashev and Oskar Sundqvist had the puck in front, and few minutes later when Vladimir Tarasenko had a clear shot, but Tuukka Rask, who has faced 15 shots with 13:55 left in the game, was there to keep it a 2-0 game.

10:10 p.m. ET

The third period has begun and the Bruins need a goal. They have 23 shots on goal, but 11 of them came in the second period, and none were serious threats to go in.
They need two goals, but they need one before they can score two.
It will be interesting to see how the Blues play with a Stanley Cup so close and the pressure mounting.
Buckle up and don't play "Gloria" yet.

9:53 p.m. ET

We have the ultimate fan battle going on: Gronk vs. Ozzy.
Former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is here cheering on the Bruins, while rocker Ozzy Osbourne is somewhere cheering on his Blues via Twitter.

Right now, Ozzy is winning, as are the Blues, who lead 2-0 after the second period.
As much as Blues goalie Jordan Binnington was tested in the first period, he's had a much easier second period, with most of the Bruins 11 shots coming from the outside.
The Blues have tightened up the middle, forcing the Bruins to at times overpass in their attempt to get a shot, and even when they do get one off, the Blues are there to block them or Binnington is there to make seemingly easy glove saves.
The Bruins will need to figure out a way to break through because right now the Blues are clearly comfortable playing with a two-goal lead.
We are through two periods in Boston and the Blues, who have been so good on the road this postseason, are 20 minutes away from the biggest win in their history.
We'll be back.

9:35 p.m. ET

We are past the midway point in the second period and it's getting a bit tight in here.
The Blues seem happy to keep the Bruins from getting good chances, getting the puck out of their zone, and playing more defense. If they get a shot, so be it, but then don't seem overly concerned about scoring right now.
With the Bruins getting a little more impatient, it did lead to a few good scoring chances for St. Louis, but Tuukka Rask, who hadn't been tested early in the second period, made a few sparkling saves to keep it a 2-0 game, one with a little help from his head and the crossbar.

Binnington hasn't been tested much either. Through the first 14 minutes of the period, the Bruins have seven shots on goal in the second and most harmless attempts from the outside.
In case you were wondering, Gronk is here. With 6;11 left in the second period, members of the Patriots were shown on the big board. Owner Bob Kraft is here too.
They are bringing out the big guns in an attempt to get the Bruins going.

9:25 p.m. ET

Give the Bruins fans credit. Despite the score, they have turned the volume back up in here, trying to get things going with a few "Let's Go Bruins" chants, but the level of angst is starting to rise with the Blues tightening up things on defense. The Bruins have three shots on shots on goal in the five minutes or so, but mostly from the outside. The Blues are seemingly getting their sticks on and in front of any other shot attempts.
The Blues took their first shot of the period at 5:08 mark and Rask was able to swallow it up.

9:20 p.m. ET

The mood is a bit more toned down to start the second period as compared to the start of the game with the Blues leading 2-0, but they are certainly partying at the Philly club where the whole "Gloria" phenomenon began. How do we know, because NHL.com's Adam Kimelman is there.

And our Tracey Myers is in Enterprise Center, where it's quite loud as well.

But we still have at least 40 minutes of hockey left and though the Bruins trail 2-0, they are getting plenty of pucks to the net. Still, they need to get the next goal. It could get dicey if they fall behind by three goals.
It will be interesting to see if the experienced Bruins keep their poise or start trying to do too much. As for the Blues, how will they respond by having the lead and being 40 minutes from a Stanley Cup?

9 p.m. ET

This is not what the Bruins had in mind. After the first period, the Blues lead it 2-0, the second goal coming from captain Alex Pietrangelo with 7.9 seconds left.
It was a stunning conclusion to a first period in which the Bruins dominated for most of the way, but the Blues scored the only two goals - the first from Ryan O'Reilly at 16:47.
The Bruins outshot the Blues 12-4, but St. Louis rookie goalie Jordan Binnington was up to the task, making some spectacular saves.
The Blues even survived the only penalty of the period, thanks to Binnington, who made a remarkable save on Brad Marchand, who appeared to have the entire right side of the net open.
The Bruins played well, but made two mistakes and it cost them two goals.

8:53 p.m. ET

We have our first goal, and it's from Ryan O'Reilly of the Blues with 3:13 left in the first period.
O'Reilly completed a hard-working shift by deflecting a point shot by Jay Bouwmeester through the legs of Tuukka Rask on the Blues' third shot of the game.

It has taken some starch out of the fans of the Bruins, who up until the goal had been dominating the game, only to be kept of the board by Blues rookie goalie Jordan Binnington.
We have exactly 2:00 left in the first period and the Blues lead it 1-0.
Red Sox World Series hero Curt Schilling, he of the bloody sock, is here, trying to get the fans pumped up.

8:50 p.m. ET

It's the Jordan Binnington show here in the first period, which is good and bad news for the Blues. It's good because he appears on top of his game tonight, but bad because the Bruins have had at least four Grade A scoring chances.
The latest came when Marcus Johansson skated in alone on the Blues goalie, but saw his backhanded attempt deflect off Binnington's outstretched glove.
Things are getting feisty here, and the Bruins are doing some serious hitting of their own. Boston has clearly carried the play, but with 5:00 left in the first, the Blues have survived, thanks to Binnington.

8:45 p.m. ET

The Bruins survived the Parayko penalty, thanks to Jordan Binnington, who made two huge saves during the man-advantage.
The first came at 8:52 when he somehow got in front of a shot from Brad Marchand, who appeared to have the entire left side of the net wide open.
About one minute later, he stopped David Krejci on the doorstep.
The Bruins have outshot the Blues 6-1 in the first 10:31 of Game 7 and Binnington is the reason it's still 0-0.

8:37 p.m. ET

The Bruins are going to the power play after Blues defenseman Colton Parayko flipped the puck out of play.
The penalty came seconds after our first shovel break, which the Blues needed. They spent the past few minutes running around in their zone. They were able to keep the Bruins off the board, blocking some big-time scoring chances by the Bruins, with Jordan Binnington making a key save on a shot by Sean Kuraly.
Still, the Blues need to settle things down or this could be a long night.
We have 12:08 left and it's 0-0 but the Bruins, after an early push by the Blues, are starting to take control.

8:30 p.m. ET

The Blues have come out strong, getting their forecheck going early. They are getting the puck deep in the Bruins zone every chance they get and then hitting anything in black and gold.
Expect plenty, and we mean plenty, of hits tonight.
The Bruins, meanwhile, nearly took advantage of a Blues icing and had a prime scoring chance 2:51 into the game, but Blues goalie Jordan Binnington was able to make the save.
Nice job by TD Garden organist to play a little bit of "The Final Countdown" by Europe to start it.
Then a little "Crazy Train" from Blues fan Ozzy Osbourne. Hmm.

8:20 p.m. ET

We are ready to go.
The Banner Captain mystery has been solved and it was worth the wait.
Liam Fitzgerald, the Bruins' "fist-bump kid" did the honors, ramping up the craziness in here another 50 notches.

Then Todd Angily put the finishing touches a the pregame activities with a stirring rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
After a seemingly endless wait from the end of Game 6 on Sunday, we are finally ready to play some hockey. We are at least 60 minutes from crowning the next Stanley Cup champion.
A few lineup notes for Game 7. For the Blues, defenseman Joel Edmundson is in and Robert Bortuzzo is out. For the Bruins, defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, out since Game 2, is back. What a night for him. Not only did he grow up in Boston, his father and brother work on the "bull crew" at TD Garden.
Here we go.

7:55 p.m. ET

The Blues and Bruins just completed their warmups and now this place is going absolutely nuts.
It's incredible when you think about the journey each team took to get to this moment. The Bruins played preseason games in China in September, played in the Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium on New Year's Day, survived a seven-game series in the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs and trailed the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 in the second round.
The Blues, as we all know by now, were last in the League standings on Jan. 3, and thanks to an 11-game winning streak, finished third in the Central Division to make the playoffs. They then defeated the Winnipeg Jets, who finished second in the Central, in the first round, and then the Dallas Stars, needing overtime in Game 7 to do so in the second round. After losing Game 3 of the Western Conference Final to the Sharks in OT, they rallied to win that series and get to a seventh game of the Cup Final. All this with a goalie who started his first NHL game on Jan. 7 in Philadelphia, where the legend of "Gloria" began.
We have another celebrity sighting. NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen reports seeing former NBA star and big hockey fan Charles Barkley outside the arena.

In addition to the Stanley Cup being on the line tonight, the NHL.com staff bracket challenge contest will also be decided. Pete Jensen, our fantasy guru, will win the staff challenge should the Bruins hoist the Cup tonight while staff writer Tracey Myers will take first if the Blues win.
We nearly had some drama up here in the press box. Staff writer Tom Gulitti said it looked like the Reese's Pieces supply was running low, but I found a secret stash and we're all good.

7:45 p.m. ET

The Banner Captain mystery continues, but we do know there are some celebs in the house tonight. MMA superstar Conor McGregor is here as well as St. Louis Blues superfan Laila Anderson. TV talk show host Andy Cohen is also here.

We're sure actor John Krasinski of "The Office" will also be here to keep his running Stanley Cup Final feud going with TV wife/Blues fan Jenna Fischer.
Of course, the biggest star of the night, the Stanley Cup, will be in the building at some point as it will most certainly be handed out to either Bruins captain Zdeno Chara or Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo.
As for the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there is growing belief that Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask could win it even if the Blues win Game 7. Again, no one knows for sure what will happen tonight and that's what makes one game for the Cup so exciting and so nerve wracking.
If you are watching TV coverage of the pregame, you will see most fans are still outside the arena, but I'm sure it will start to fill up in here as we get closer to 8 p.m.
We are getting closer to warmups. Time to get my last candy fix of the Final.

7:15 p.m. ET

We are about 90 minutes from puck drop and, in addition to the anticipation for the game, there is plenty of speculation about who will be the Bruins' Banner Captain.
Social media was abuzz with rumors of Tom Brady or former Bruins goalie Tim Thomas doing the honors. There was even a report that former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who is currently in Mass. General hospital recovering from being shot in the Dominican Republic over the weekend, will appear on a video. Though we don't know who it will be, Roberto Luongo, the losing goalie for the Vancouver Canucks the last time the Bruins played a Game 7 in 2011, threw his hat into the ring.
It's been that kind of day in Boston and we haven't even started playing hockey yet.

6:30 p.m. ET

After 1,271 regular-season game and 86 Stanley Cup Playoff games, it's all come down to this: Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
It shouldn't come as a surprise, since this will be the sixth Game 7 this season and the second for each team. It's the first Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final since the Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks on the road in 2011.
This is the first time a Game 7 of a Cup Final has been played in Boston and this town is jacked up for it. The scene on Canal Street across from the arena was complete bedlam, and who could blame the Boston fans for being fired up? I mean, it's been almost five months since this town has celebrated a major sports championship and that New England Patriots' win in the Super Bowl came almost three months after the Boston Red Sox won the World Series. We know the Celtics won't win it this year, but the Bruins are certainly in a good spot to win Boston's third sports major sports title in the past eight months. Pretty, pretty good.
Canal Street isn't the only area ready to go. On our walk to the arena, we saw huge lines for the watering holes around the arena.
And it's only going to get crazier. We'll check back in when we get upstairs.