On Sunday night, the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 in Boston to extend their current winning streak to seven games. On the other hand, for the Canadiens the loss pushes their losing streak to an unfortunate, season-high of eight games.

David Backes, the Bruins alternate captain, scored his first goal of the season, after not playing for nearly a month. Backes has been out since November 2 when he was involved in a vicious collision with Scott Sabourin of the Ottawa Senators.

“You could see (the emotion) it on my face. That was elation,” Backes said. “I’ve been watching this team do this for a month, and now it’s great to be part of it.”

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

Many were unsure of what Backes would bring to the table upon his return, and whether he’d be a bit shaky or rusty at first.

“We didn’t know what he’d have, to be honest with you,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He hadn’t played in a while. I thought he gave us some good energy, had a couple looks, was banging bodies.”

Backes’ goal was, in fact, the decider, coming with 9:31 left in the third period off of a feed from David Krejci. Jake DeBrusk also added a goal, his sixth of the year; meanwhile, forward David Pastrnak added a league-leading 25^th goal to amount to a 3-1 final in the Bruins’ favor.

Conversely, for the Canadiens, that loss makes it eight in a row.

“For 45, 46, 47 minutes, we were playing solid hockey,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said. “We needed that win desperately, and now we’ve got to go back home and find a way to win the next one.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

Montreal goaltender Carey Price attested to the improvement in his team’s play; Price himself had 31 saves on the night.

“If we definitely play like (we did today), the majority of our games are going to be a better result,” Price said.

The Canadiens will look to improve their fortunes when they host the New York Islanders on Wednesday. The Bruins will also play at home on Wednesday, hosting the 16-10-1 Carolina Hurricanes.

With the Stanley Cup Final due to begin Monday, May 27, 2019 both the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues hope to give this NHL season the finale it deserves. Nearly all teams’ stories leading up to the Stanley Cup Final often stand as ones saturated with ingredients exclusive to that specific team. Conference champions Boston and St. Louis stand as no outlier to this concept. With intriguing elements tied to each team, each club’s path contains inspiring and unique factors, both increasingly vital to their organization’s success.

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During this year’s run the Blues truly showed their respective franchises what heart and resiliency are all about. Nobody other than those within the St. Louis organization expected their Blues to one day take the ice in the Stanley Cup Final during the season’s early days, as the Blues owned the league’s worst record during January. After firing former head coach Mike Yeo and the emergence of Jordan Binnington, St. Louis experienced a sensational turnaround, eventually climbing into a third place spot in the the Central Division. Although St. Louis’s actions to improve the team appeared somewhat straight–forward, those within the organization’s ability to continue to play tough hockey amidst the season’s darkest days speaks to this team’s character and overall toughness. If St. Louis can continue their gritty run come Monday, they may indeed hear “Gloria” blast through their earphones, radios, and Amazon echoes four more times and hoist the Stanley Cup.

Lacing up their skates opposite the Blues stands the Bruins. Accepting somewhat of a villain role, as most Boston teams have amidst the city’s recent success across all major sports, Boston will look to silence the Blues and stop them from earning their first ever Stanley Cup. David Backes fills a revenge roll for Boston, as the former Blues captain will square off against a team he devoted ten years of his career to. Also with something to prove Boston’s goalie Tuukka Rash will look to defend well during the final, as the Boston goalie has fallen victim to scrutiny regarding his performance during clutch moments despite his excellence thus far during the post season. With no bigger stage than the Stanley Cup Final, look for Rash to change his perception amongst Boston writers.

As each team brings rare yet exciting segments to the ice, the teams continue to build an entertaining prologue to what should be an entertaining series.  Game one will introduce the two parties in the TD Garden Monday night at 8 p.m. EST.