The NHL's new champion will be crowned following a win-or-go-home affair Wednesday, and other than fans of the St. Louis Blues, nobody's complaining that this series is going the distance.

The Boston Bruins will have the luxury of home-ice advantage for the decisive contest, but that doesn't necessarily mean history is on their side.

Here's a look at some numerical nuggets pertaining to Stanley Cup Final Game 7s throughout history, to the 2019 playoffs, and how they relate to the two clubs involved this time around.

8 years later, can Boston do it again?

2011 - The last Game 7 in a Cup Final, in which the Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-0.

5 - Current Bruins players who were part of that championship team (Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, and Tuukka Rask, although Rask didn't play a minute in the playoffs that year).

Home teams have an edge, but not recently

12-4 - The record of home teams in Stanley Cup Final Game 7s.

2 - Road wins in the last two Cup Final Game 7s. The Bruins won in Vancouver in the 2011 final; the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena in 2009.

A 1st time for everything

95 - Years the Bruins have existed.

0 - Stanley Cup Final Game 7s that the team has previously hosted.

Bruins have more Game 7 experience

15-12 - The Bruins' all-time record in playoff Game 7s, the most winner-take-all contests of any franchise and the most wins in those games in NHL history.

14-8 - Boston's record at home in those games.

9-8 - The Blues' all-time record in playoff Game 7s.

4-6 - St. Louis' record on the road in those games.

Chara on verge of history

13 - All-time Game 7s played in by Chara, who will set an NHL record when he plays in his 14th on Wednesday. The 42-year-old Bruins captain is currently tied with Patrick Roy and Scott Stevens for the most all time.

Going the distance ... again

2 - Years the Bruins have played multiple Game 7s in a single playoff run (they went the distance with Toronto in Round 1 this year). They also did so in 2011, becoming the first team in history to win three Game 7s in a single playoff run. The Los Angeles Kings later matched the mark in 2014.

All-time Game 7 trends

177 - All-time Game 7s in playoff history.

74 - Percent of those games won by the team that scored first (131-46). Those clubs have gone 11-5 in Stanley Cup Final Game 7s, and 3-2 in Game 7s during the 2019 playoffs.

58.7 - Percent of all-time Game 7s won by the home team. Home teams have gone 4-1 in 2019.

24.9 - Percent of all-time Game 7s that required overtime. Home teams have gone 23-21 in those games, and 2-1 in 2019.

Putting all the 2019 Game 7s in context

6 - Game 7s in these playoffs, including Wednesday's contest.

6 - Previous years in which at least six Game 7s were contested in the same postseason (seven in 1994, 2011, and 2014, and six in 1992, 2003, and 2009).

(Most figures provided by the NHL)

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Throughout June, theScore will be projecting contracts for the star-studded restricted free-agent class. In this edition, we project Brock Boeser's new deal.

The player

The Vancouver Canucks have collected the young core pieces they hope to build a successful team around, and now it's time to start paying them. The process begins with a new contract for sharpshooting winger Brock Boeser, the first of the club's building blocks to require a new deal.

Drafted 23rd overall by Vancouver in 2015, Boeser has already established himself as one of the league's premier shooters. Since his first full season, he sits 18th among all NHL skaters with 1.1 goals per 60 at five-on-five, ahead of some major names like Jamie Benn, Brad Marchand, Sean Monahan, and Mark Stone.

Boeser doesn't drive play for his linemates particularly well, but he's an elite finisher who's bound to earn a handsome payday even as a winger. The 22-year-old's resume already includes a runner-up finish in Calder Trophy voting and All-Star Game MVP honors, so he has lots to work with on his side of negotiations.

The team

As mentioned above, Boeser is a key component of the Canucks' promising young core alongside Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. His upcoming contract will be crucial for Vancouver's long-term salary cap picture as all three players track to make big money down the road. General manager Jim Benning can get a head start this offseason by working out a reasonable deal for Boeser.

The Canucks are projected to have over $30 million in cap space for the 2019-20 season, according to CapFriendly. Though Boeser headlines Vancouver's list of players due for new contracts, he's not alone. Tyler Motte, Josh Leivo, Nikolay Goldobin, and Markus Granlund are all RFA forwards as well, while Ben Hutton and Derrick Pouliot are up for new deals on the blue line. Of those six players, only Goldobin enters the offseason without arbitration rights. Vancouver also has decisions to make on veteran UFA defensemen Alex Edler and Luke Schenn. Schenn joined the club in January and it seems the Canucks want to bring him back.

Boeser won't be the only player looking to get paid this summer, but he'll undoubtedly be priority No. 1.

The comparables

Here's a list of notable wingers to recently sign long-term contracts coming out of their ELCs:

CH% = Cap hit as a percentage of the cap ceiling when the contract was signed

* - In contract year
** - Nylander's cap hit in 2018-19 was prorated to $10.2 million based on time missed due to negotiations

Boeser missed time with injury this season but still put up 0.81 points per game over 69 contests, putting him on par with the comparables above. Working in Boeser's favor, though, is the increasing salary cap, projected at $83 million for next year. That increase could slide him ahead of all the players listed above in terms of AAV. He also outscored everybody on this list over the duration of their respective ELCs with 0.42 tallies per game, and there's no better stat than goals to build a case for a sizeable payday.

His new contract could also largely depend on which of his RFA contemporaries puts pen to paper first. Boeser is just one of numerous superstar wingers scheduled to secure a huge payday this summer along with Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen, Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, and Matthew Tkachuk - all of whom will play a role in setting the market.

The projection

Boeser isn't as multidimensional as some of his RFA peers, but excelling at scoring goals at the sport's highest level is an outstanding way to earn a hefty paycheck. Given his prowess when it comes to lighting the lamp, a cap hit in the range of $7 million to $8 million would be reasonable for both sides.

From the Canucks' standpoint, there's little incentive to bridge Boeser. He's proven himself as a producer, and delaying a long-term commitment could backfire big time once it's time to pay Pettersson and Hughes two years from now.

Verdict: 7 years, $51.45 million ($7.35 million AAV)

Advanced Stats Courtesy: Natural Stat Trick

Others in this series:

• Zach Werenski
• Charlie McAvoy
• Sebastian Aho
• Timo Meier
• Mikko Rantanen
• Patrik Laine & Kyle Connor (June 11)
• Brayden Point (June 12)
• Matthew Tkachuk (June 13)
• Mitch Marner (June 14)

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Ryan O'Reilly has been outstanding for the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup FInal, but the 28-year-old knows his early penalty in Game 6 put his team in a difficult position to win the contest.

"Was a tough penalty by me, I can't be taking one like that to give them a five-on-three," O'Reilly said after the game, per KSDK News. "Obviously they got that goal and took that momentum from us."

With the Blues already shorthanded in the first period, O'Reilly was whistled for a delay of game penalty after accidentally flipping the puck over the glass. Bruins forward Brad Marchand capitalized on the two-man advantage, ripping a one-timer past Jordan Binnington to give Boston a lead they never relinquished.

"They got a lucky bounce on that second goal and it took the wind out of our sails," O'Reilly said.

The Blues had four power-play opportunities of their own but failed to execute despite mustering 12 shots on Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask. St. Louis has now gone 1-for-18 with the man advantage in the series.

"Some good looks, just not the results," O'Reilly said. "Maybe if we do get one it steamrolls into two or three and it's unfortunate, but we've got to build and it's going to take a lot of hard work to bury and we're not afraid of it."

O'Reilly scored the Blues' lone tally in the loss and has a team-leading four goals and seven points in the Stanley Cup Final.

For the first time since 2011, the Stanley Cup will be decided in a winner-take-all contest as the two teams head back to Boston for Game 7 on Wednesday.

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With Zdeno Chara's ability to speak hampered by an ailing jaw, it was Patrice Bergeron who delivered a pre-game speech that resonated with multiple Boston Bruins teammates.

"It made us all want to run through a wall," forward Jake DeBrusk said, according to Conor Ryan of the Boston Journal.

"It was exactly what we needed," defenseman Charlie McAvoy said of Bergeron's message, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli, adding that his first playoff run has been an emotional roller coaster.

McAvoy said Bergeron spoke to the team about everyone dreaming as kids about winning a Stanley Cup and not letting it end yet, according to the Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan.

The message clearly hit home with the young blue-liner.

"I've been dreaming of this my whole life," McAvoy said, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

DeBrusk, 22, and McAvoy, 21, are enduring the one-of-a-kind Stanley Cup grind for the first time in their careers, but are fortunate enough to have a handful of veteran teammates at their disposal who've been through the wringer before. Bergeron, Chara, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, and Tuukka Rask are the remaining members from Boston's last Stanley Cup in 2011.

Both McAvoy and DeBrusk played integral roles in Boston's 5-1 win. McAvoy, who led all Bruins skaters in ice time, made what at the time looked like a potential game-saving play when he batted a puck that got behind Rask out of midair and harm's way. DeBrusk, meanwhile, picked up the lone assist on Brandon Carlo's game-winning goal.

Game 7 goes Wednesday night at TD Garden.

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For the first time since 2011, the Stanley Cup Final will be decided with a Game 7, as the Boston Bruins staved off elimination Sunday night against the St. Louis Blues with a 5-1 victory.

The two squads will battle for the title on Wednesday night in Boston.

More to come.

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With the St. Louis Blues just one win away from the first Stanley Cup championship in their 52-year history, the city's only daily newspaper got a little ahead of itself.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch inadvertently published several pages to one of their digital platforms that congratulated the Blues and their fans.

And here's a closer look:

The pages were eventually removed, and the publication owned up to the error shortly thereafter.

Game 6 between the Blues and Boston Bruins is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Sunday night. St. Louis leads the series 3-2.

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A Missouri man who'll take home $100,000 if the St. Louis Blues win the championship says he's not interested in selling his potentially lucrative betting slip.

Scott Berry, who bet on the Blues to win the Stanley Cup while on a trip to Las Vegas in January, told USA Today's Kevin Allen that he has received several overtures, including a firm offer of $41,000 that came between the first and second periods of Game 6 of the Western Conference Final.

“Forty-thousand sounds great. I want the money. But I thought, 'No, I’m going to let it ride.'" Berry said. "I believe too much in this team. That’s why people call me an idiot because I’m betting with heart and not my mind. I’ve fallen in love with this team.”

Berry put down $400 on the Blues at 250-1 odds and was told Friday he could "probably sell it for $70,000."

He doesn't want to hedge his bet, either.

"I’m reluctant to hedge because I’m kind of superstitious,” Berry said. “I put the bet down in January believing they could do it. Why sell myself short?”

St. Louis is one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup after holding the NHL's worst record back in December.

"That ticket went from my sock drawer, to my safe, to now a safe deposit box," he said.

The Blues can clinch their first Cup championship in the 52-year history of the franchise with a victory in Game 6 on Sunday night.

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