STANLEY CUP FINAL: Bruins roar to Game 3 victory in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS — The Boston Bruins struck for three goals in the first period and added two more in both the second and third to down the St. Louis Blues, 7-2, in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Boston chased Jordan Binnington from the contest in the second period and took a 2-1 series lead with the win.

Patrice Bergeron opened the scoring with a power play strike in the first period, before a pair of late goals from Charlie Coyle and Sean Kuraly in the first made it 3-0 Bruins.

Just 41 seconds into the middle frame, David Pastrnak backhanded a shot into the top corner of the St. Louis cage to make it 4-0 Bruins less than 21 minutes into the contest.

And while Ivan Barbashev put the Blues on the board with a goal in the second, Torey Krug answered with Boston’s third power play goal of the game to give the Bruins a 5-1 lead headed into the third.

Colton Parayko struck in the third for the Blues and Noel Acciari and Marcus Johansson added goals for the Bruins to round out the scoring.

Game 4 will take place Monday night in St. Louis with puck drop slated for 8 p.m. at the Enterprise Center.

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.

PREVIOUS: Gunnarsson's overtime goal skewers Bruins in Game 2

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.

Puck drop is slated for 8 p.m. at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

Related: Bruins and Blues adjust lineups before Game 3

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

LIVE UPDATES:

11:00 p.m.: Final: Boston 7, St. Louis 2. The Bruins take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final

10:57 p.m.: Marcus Johansson makes it 7-2 with a one-timer on the power play.

10:56 p.m.: Noel Acciari makes it 6-2 with an empty netter.

10:39 p.m.: Bruins kill off the penalty.

10:36 p.m.: And now Jake DeBrusk gets a Delay of Game penalty. Another chance for the Blues.

10:32 p.m.: Shot deflects off of Brandon Carlo and into the back of the Bruins net to bring St. Louis within three.

10:30 p.m.: Zdeno Chara called for roughing. Blues looking for their first power play goal of the game.

10:26 p.m.: Brandon Carlo called for interference during a 4-on-4. Bruins will attempt to kill a 4-on-3 advantage for the Blues.

10:20 p.m.: The third period is underway in St. Louis.

10:03 p.m.: After 2: Bruins 5, Blues 1.

9:49 p.m.: Torey Krug wrists one past Binnington on the PP to make it 5-1 Boston. Jake Allen now in for Binnington in the Blues net.

9:48 p.m. Bruins power play looks to go 3-for-3 with Colton Parayko whistled for high sticking.

9:44 p.m.: St. Louis gets on the board with Ivan Barbashev one-timing one past Tuukka Rask with less than 9 minutes to go in the second period. Boston's lead cut to 4-1.

9:41 p.m.: Bruins make the kill. They lead 4-0.

9:39 p.m.: Blues head back to the man advantage.

9:27 p.m.: David Pastrnak converts a backhander to make it 4-0 Boston less than 1 minute into the second.

9:25 p.m.: The second period is underway.

9:05 p.m.: After 1: Bruins 3, Blues 0.

9:03 p.m.: Sean Kuraly pots a last minute goal to make it 3-0 Bruins. St. Louis challenged for offsides, but the call was upheld. Blues will lose their timeout.

9:00 p.m.: Charlie Coyle rips a feed from Marcus Johansson to make it 2-0 Boston in the first period.

8:49 p.m.: The Bruins power play cashes in for the third consecutive game, with Patrice Bergeron tipping in a shot to make it 1-0 Boston.

8:45 p.m.: Boston to the power play; David Perron called for interference.

8:33 p.m.: The Bruins have killed off the St. Louis man-advantage.

8:27 p.m.: Jake DeBrusk takes an early penalty for Boston, giving St. Louis the first power play of the contest.

8:25 p.m.: And Game 3 is underway in St. Louis.

7:40 p.m.: The two teams are on the ice for warm-ups at the Enterprise Center.

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