STANLEY CUP FINAL: Bruins force Game 7 with 5-1 win in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS — The Boston Bruins forced a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final, downing the St. Louis Blues, 5-1, in Game 6 in St. Louis.

Boston got goals from five different scorers in the win.

The Bruins rebounded after back-to-back losses for the second time this postseason. In Game 4, the Blues prevailed, 3-2, on a late goal by Ryan O'Reilly. In Game 5, a David Perron strike following a controversial no-call on a potential Tyler Bozak tripping penalty lifted the Blues to a 3-2 series advantage.

With a win, St. Louis would have won the Stanley Cup for the first time in their franchise's history. However, Boston forced the series back to Boston for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Wednesday night.

This was the third time in the last nine seasons that the Bruins will enter Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final trailing 3-2.

PREVIOUS: STANLEY CUP: Blues edge Bruins in Game 5

In 2011, the Bruins defeated Vancouver and forced a Game 7 in Canada, where they won to capture the Stanley Cup. In 2013, the Chicago Blackhawks struck twice late in the third to shock the Bruins at TD Garden and eliminate the home squad.

Boston, the champions of the Eastern Conference, reached their third Stanley Cup Final in nine seasons after sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes in the Conference Finals. Conversely, St. Louis appears in the championship round for the first time in 49 years after defeating the San Jose Sharks in six games in the Western Conference Finals.

This series is the second time the two squads square off with the Stanley Cup on the line. The first came in 1970 - the last time the Blues played in the final round - when Boston won the series four games to none.

Related: NHL suspends Blues F Barbashev for 1 game for illegal check

Game 7 is set to get underway at 8 p.m. in Boston on Wednesday.

Follow along for live updates throughout the night, and follow @Boston25 on Twitter for the latest.

LIVE UPDATES:

Final: Bruins 5, Blues 1. Game 7 in Boston Wednesday night.

10:50 p.m.: Zdeno Chara adds an empty netter to make it 5-1 Boston.

10:46 p.m.: David Pastrnak restores the three-goal lead for the Bruins, making it 4-1 Boston in the last six minutes of Game 6.

10:38 p.m.: With 7:59 to go in the third, Ryan O'Reilly sneaks one past Rask to make it 3-1 Boston. 

10:34 p.m.: And with less than 10 minutes remaining, Karson Kuhlman makes it 3-0 Bruins with his first goal of the postseason. He's the 21st Bruin to score a goal this postseason.

10:20 p.m.: Brandon Carlo skips a shot past Binnington to double the Bruins lead, putting them ahead 2-0 less than three minutes into the third.

10:16 p.m.: The third period is underway.

10:00 p.m.: After 2: Bruins 1, Blues 0.

9:48 p.m.: Bruins make the kill.

9:44 p.m.: Charlie McAvoy off for tripping Vladimir Tarasenko with just over six minutes to go in the second period.

9:37 p.m.: Tuukka Rask makes a near impossible save with the help of Charlie McAvoy's stick to keep the Blues off the board. Bruins make the kill.

9:33 p.m.: And the clean sheet ends as Brad Marchand is called for tripping with 10:49 to go in the second.

9:32 p.m.: Nearly halfway through the second period and the Bruins still ahead, 1-0. No penalties or goals in the middle frame, thus far.

9:15 p.m.: The second period is underway.

8:58 p.m.: After 1: Bruins 1, Blues 0.

8:55 p.m.: Zdeno Chara whistled for interference with under two minutes to go in the opening period.

8:37 p.m.: Seconds into the two-man advantage, the Bruins take a one-goal lead off a strike from Brad Marchand. 1-0 Bruins.

8:35 p.m.: Bruins get a 5-on-3 with Ryan O'Reilly getting a Delay of Game penalty.

8:32 p.m.: Now the Bruins to the power play with Brayden Schenn hitting Nordstrom from behind. Scoreless thus far.

8:29 p.m.: Bruins kill off the penalty with Tuukka Rask making a spectacular pad save.

8:26 p.m.: Blues to the power play early as Sean Kuraly flips the puck into the crowd for a Delay of Game minor. 17:18 to go in the first.

8:20 p.m.: Game 6 is underway in St. Louis.

7:30 p.m.: Bruins make a few lineup changes for Game 6 in St. Louis.

Cox Media Group