Should the Boston Bruins go on to win the Stanley Cup, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch might have to bare some of the blame.
In a subscriber-only e-edition sent out Sunday, the newspaper mistakenly ran a slew of ads congratulating the Blues on winning the Cup. One of the ads included a “thank you” note from Blues chairman and governor Tom Stillman.
Of course, the Bruins earned a 5-1 victory in Game 6 at Enterprise Center, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 on Wednesday at TD Garden. And despite the Post-Dispatch’s apology/explanation, the Bruins still used the paper’s gaffe as motivation.
Printouts of the ads were given to players before Game 6, according to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. It’s safe to say they had the desired effect.
“Yeah,” Torey Krug said when asked if he had seen ads, via Shinzawa. “Because it was everywhere.”
“We saw it,” Brandon Carlo told WBZ-TV after the game. “Put a fire in us for sure. We don’t like that kind of stuff. We don’t want that to happen in Boston by any means. We’re focused on the next shift and going from there, not focused on winning or losing. Just focused on the next shift and working our asses off.”
Now, Bruins fans should pump the brakes before ripping the Post-Dispatch. This is more about an egregious error than over-confidence.
The truth is that local Boston papers likely have taken similar measures, and you can bet championship t-shirts already exist. A parade route surely has been agreed upon, as well, though it’s not like Boston needs much help with planning those things.
Puck drop for Game 7 is scheduled for Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET.
