According to the data, the St. Louis Blues are in a pretty rough spot. According to Vladimir Tarasenko, they're just fine.
The Blues star was informed Tuesday that teams that win Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, as the Boston Bruins did Monday night, go on to win the series 77.2 percent of the time.
Tarasenko's response: Who cares?
"That’s why you guys do the stats and we play on the ice," Tarasenko said Tuesday, via The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford. "Cool stats but it’s not in our heads."
If Tarasenko, who scored in the Blues' 4-2 loss Monday night, wanted to make a counter-argument, he could point to St. Louis' loss to the San Jose Sharks in Game 1 of the Western Conference final. The Blues won four of the next five games to storm back and take the series.
This is also a club that ranked dead last in the NHL on Jan. 3, so the Blues know what it means to be counted out.
Boston Bruins
But if St. Louis isn't able to even the series Wednesday night in Game 2 at TD Garden, those "cool stats" may be too hard to ignore: Teams that take a 2-0 lead in the Cup Final are 46-5 (90.2 winning percentage) since it went to a best-of-seven format in 1939.
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