BOSTON — Drop the puck.
That's been the mindset for both the Blues and Boston Bruins, who begin their quest of winning the Stanley Cup when the final starts with Game 1 today at 7 p.m. (NBC, KMOX 1120-AM) at TD Garden.
The Western Conference champion Blues, in the Cup final for the first time since 1970, paved their road with series wins over Winnipeg (six games), Dallas (seven games) and most recently, San Jose (six games), while the Eastern Conference champion Bruins, in the Stanley Cup final for the third time in nine seasons, eliminated Toronto (seven games), Columbus (six games) and most recently, Carolina (four games).
The Blues have not played since Tuesday, a break of five days, and while they're eager to get started, there's a bit of self-awareness of where they are soaking up the atmosphere in a business-like manner.
"It means a lot, obviously," Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko said. "It's probably the biggest stage we all ever play. I told you yesterday the break was a little too long. Now it's a gameday and kind of same routine. I'm really excited about the series starting tonight."
"We're excited," Blues center Ryan O'Reilly said. "Obviously it's been a long wait for both teams. It's exciting to get it going. There's going to be a lot of emotions tonight. At the end of the day, it's another game and we have to be prepared."
Boston's idle time has been even longer. They last played on May 16, 11 days ago, and had 10 days between games themselves.
"Yeah, I guess until we play, it's going to be hard," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I think they've handled it well. We've mixed in rest vs. work. Yesterday, our practice was scruffy, not going to lie to you. I thought the day before was excellent, so which one are we going to?
"We've put in a plan this week we feel will allow us to have success in the first game. Until we get out there, who knows? ... I feel we're ready, but until the puck drops, don't know."
Blues interim coach Craig Berube said he and his coaching staff have had ample time to prepare and feel the team is ready to go.
"We had plenty of time to go over everything," Berube said. "It's just about getting out there and playing. I think the team is in a good spot. We're obviously anxious to get going, get out there the first few shifts and make contact and get involved and get the nerves out."
The Blues' projected lineup:
Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Vladimir Tarasenko
Sammy Blais-Ryan O'Reilly-David Perron
Pat Maroon-Tyler Bozak-Robert Thomas
Ivan Barbashev-Oskar Sundqvist-Alexander Steen
Joel Edmundson-Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester-Colton Parayko
Carl Gunnarsson-Robert Bortuzzo
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Jake Allen will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Robby Fabbri, Michael Del Zotto, Zach Sanford, Mackenzie MacEachern, Chris Thorburn, Chris Butler and Ville Husso. Vince Dunn (upper body) remains day-to-day.
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The Bruins' projected lineup:
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk-David Krejci-David Backes
Marcus Johansson-Charlie Coyle-Danton Heinen
Joakim Nordstrom-Sean Kuraly-Noel Acciari
Zdeno Chara-Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug-Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Clifton
Tuukka Rask will start in goal; Jaroslav Halak will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Steven Kampfer, Karson Kuhlman and John Moore. Chris Wagner (right arm) and Kevan Miller (lower body) are out.
