Blues to hold Stanley Cup parade Saturday

Clear your schedules, Blues fans.

The Stanley Cup will make its way through the streets of St. Louis for the first time during the traditional victory parade on Saturday, the team announced Thursday.

The parade will start at noon at the corner of 18th and Market streets, and end at Broadway and Market Street. A rally will take place at the Gateway Arch following the parade.

St. Louis captured the first Stanley Cup in franchise history on Wednesday, defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 7.

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Fan earns $100K on $400 bet after Blues win Stanley Cup

It was difficult for anyone to believe in the St. Louis Blues when they sat last in the NHL on Jan. 2, but Scott Berry did.

Berry, a Blues fan, was on a business trip in Las Vegas in January and decided to throw $400 down on St. Louis to win the Stanley Cup at 250-1 odds. He would have many opportunities to cash out before the final result but decided to go big or go home.

"Everyone was calling me an idiot for not hedging," Berry told The Action Network's Darren Rovell. "I would start to read the Twitter comments, and, after a while, I had to just stop reading."

Obviously, Berry's faith paid off. The Blues defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night, earning him an incredible $100,000 payday. There was no shortage of nervousness beforehand, though.

"Leading up to the game was the worst part," Berry said. "I tried to keep my mind occupied, but nothing really worked. I remember there was like four hours to go and I tried to take a nap. Didn't happen."

When the moment of relief and joy finally came, Berry enjoyed a champagne shower as if he was a Stanley Cup champion himself.

"I wanted this for me, but I wanted this for the city," he said. "Once I put the bet down, I had this sixth sense kind of feeling that it was gonna happen and if I hedged I thought it would suggest that I didn't believe."

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6 defining moments of Blues’ Stanley Cup run

After 52 long years, the St. Louis Blues are finally Stanley Cup champions. There is no easy path to a championship, as every title run is filled with ups and downs.

From controversial calls to overtime thrillers, here are the six moments that defined the Blues' magical Stanley Cup run.

Game 5 vs. Jets: 3rd-period takeover

After stealing both road games to take a 2-0 series edge in the first round, the Blues dropped both contests in their own building and faced a 2-0 deficit heading into the third period of Game 5 back in Winnipeg. The Jets seemed to have finally found their groove and the Blues looked as though they'd be heading home facing elimination.

Ryan O'Reilly cut the lead in half just minutes into the third frame and Brayden Schenn tied the contest with 6:08 remaining. Then, with the Blues pressing in the final moments, Jaden Schwartz got his stick on a centering pass from Tyler Bozak to put the Blues ahead with 15 seconds to play. St. Louis ended the series two nights later in Game 6.

Game 7 vs. Stars: Hometown hero

This moment goes down as one of the most memorable and exciting endings to a postseason game in recent memory. Game 7, double overtime, and an unlikely hometown hero in Pat Maroon storming through the crease to bang in the goal that eliminated the Dallas Stars and lifted the Blues to the Conference Final.

Maroon shared a special postgame moment with his son, Anthony, and celebrated the victory with family and friends in the city where he grew up.

Game 4 vs. Sharks: Punching right back

After blowing the lead with a minute to play in Game 3, a missed hand pass led directly to the Sharks scoring the overtime winner, and the Blues faced a 2-1 series deficit while lacking home-ice advantage. Most teams would have crumbled when faced with such adversity, but not these Blues.

Just 35 seconds into Game 4, Ivan Barbashev provided a much-needed response with his first goal of the postseason. The Blues wouldn't trail for the rest of the series and eliminated the Sharks with three consecutive victories to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1970.

Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final: Gunnarsson calls his shot

This contest headed to overtime with the Blues in danger of falling behind 2-0 in the series. During an intermission bathroom break, Carl Gunnarsson, who rattled one off the post in the final seconds of regulation, told head coach Craig Berube that he needed just "one more chance."

He delivered on his word only 3:51 into overtime, as Gunnarsson hammered a point shot past Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask for his first career postseason goal to tie the series at one as it moved back to St. Louis. That exchange between Gunnarsson and Berube has already been etched into St. Louis sports lore.

Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final: Blues catch a break

After surviving the hand pass against the Sharks, the Blues had karma swing back around in their favor in Game 5 of the Cup Final. With just under 10 minutes to play, Bozak appeared to get away with a trip on Bruins forward Noel Acciari, which led directly to David Perron's game-winning goal.

Game 7 of Stanley Cup Final: Binnington's signature moment

With the Blues up 2-0 in the third period and the Bruins hounding to get on the board, Joakim Nordstrom found himself alone in front of goal with all the time in the world. The 27-year-old forward pulled to his forehand only to be met by a sprawling Binnington, who kicked out his right pad to make the save of his life.

Vladimir Tarasenko went the other way just moments later to make it 3-0 and seal the Blues' first-ever Stanley Cup championship.

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Grzelcyk back in Bruins’ lineup for Game 7

Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk is back in action for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday after clearing concussion protocol, the team announced prior to puck drop.

Grzelcyk will replace Connor Clifton in the Bruins' lineup.

Grzelcyk hasn't played since suffering a concussion in Game 2 against the St. Louis Blues. He was hit hard into the boards by Oskar Sundqvist, who received a one-game suspension.

The smooth-skating defenseman has had a stellar postseason for the Bruins despite a limited role. He's tallied three goals and four assists in 19 games while averaging just over 16 minutes per night.

Boston has controlled 53.7 percent of the shot attempts and 60.8 percent of the high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five while Grzelcyk has been on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick.

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Report: Goalie coach Bales joining Sabres after leaving Canes

Mike Bales' resignation from the Carolina Hurricanes makes a bit more sense now.

Bales will be the Buffalo Sabres' new goaltending coach, sources told The Athletic's Joe Yerdon.

He stepped down from the same role with the Hurricanes on Tuesday after two seasons with the team.

Bales previously served as goalie coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2014-17. He now replaces Andrew Allen, who succeeded Arturs Irbe in Buffalo in 2015.

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Steve Carell declares for Bruins in ‘The Office’ cast’s Stanley Cup schism

It's settled: Michael and Jim versus Pam.

Steve Carell, who starred as Michael Scott on the hit TV sitcom "The Office," showed where his allegiances lie ahead of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues.

No caption needed, apparently. Does this mean Carell is superstitious? Or maybe just a little 'stitious?

Carell, a native of Concord, Mass., is the second known Bruins fan among the show's cast members. John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert, has been seen at multiple Bruins games throughout the postseason.

Meanwhile, Jenna Fischer, who played Jim's wife, Pam Beesly, is a devoted Blues fan.

Michael and Jim rarely teamed up against Pam on the show, but it now appears the turntables.

We think that pretty much sums it up.

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Blues’ Thomas, Bortuzzo scratched for Game 7

The St. Louis Blues are making multiple lineup changes ahead of the biggest game in franchise history.

Defenseman Joel Edmundson will sub in for fellow blue-liner Robert Bortuzzo, while 19-year-old forward Robert Thomas will be scratched in favor of Ivan Barbashev, who's returning from suspension, head coach Craig Berube said Wednesday, according to The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford.

Here's a look at the Blues' expected lineup, as relayed by Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Forwards:

LW C RW
Jaden Schwartz Brayden Schenn Vladimir Tarasenko
Zach Sanford Ryan O'Reilly David Perron
Sammy Blais Tyler Bozak Pat Maroon
Ivan Barbashev Oskar Sundqvist Alexander Steen

Defense:

LD RD
Carl Gunnarsson Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn Joel Edmundson

With Bortuzzo, a right-handed shot, being scratched in favor of the lefty Edmundson, the Blues will be dressing four left-handers and two right-handers on defense.

However, Berube told The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno that because right-handers Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko are logging so much ice time, "There's not a lot of (other) minutes over there."

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