2019 Stanley Cup Finals  The 2019 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2018–19 season and the culmination of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Western Conference champion St. Louis Blues defeated the Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins four games to three to win their first championship, in their 51st season of play (not including the 2004–05 lockout), ending the third longest championship drought in league history. The Bruins had home-ice advantage in this best-of-seven playoff series with the better regular season record. The series began on May 27 and concluded on June 12. The Blues' Stanley Cup–winning run of 26 playoff games tied the 2014 Los Angeles Kings for the longest of any Stanley Cup–winning team in history. This was a rematch of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals, which Boston won in four, the fourth consecutive Finals to both involve at least one team vying for its first championship and end with the champion clinching the Cup on the road, and the first time since 2011 where the Finals went the full seven games. Until this year, the Blues were the oldest franchise to have never won a Stanley Cup. That distinction is now shared by the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks, as both teams were founded in 1970 and are without a Stanley Cup to their name. St. Louis also became the last surviving 1967 NHL expansion team to win their first Stanley Cup, joining the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars (originally the Minnesota North Stars) and Pittsburgh Penguins. This was the Boston Bruins' 20th appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, six years after , when they faced the Chicago Blackhawks and were defeated in six games. The Bruins last won the Stanley Cup in , their sixth Cup in franchise history. Brad Marchand became the first Bruin since the 2005–06 season to score 100 points, finishing the regular season with 100 points in 79 games. David Pastrnak led the team in goals with 38. Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak split the goaltending duties during the regular season. Halak had signed with the team during the off-season, and approaching the trade deadline the Bruins acquired forwards Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson. Boston finished the regular season with 107 points, finishing in second place in the Atlantic Division and third overall in the league. In the First Round of the playoffs, they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games for the second consecutive playoff meeting against the Maple Leafs and third since the 2012–13 season. They then defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4–2 in the Second Round.