Local newspaper prematurely congratulates St. Louis Blues on NHL Stanley Cup win

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper has apologized for congratulating the St. Louis Blues on winning their first-ever Stanley Cup before game number six against the Boston Bruins, which the team then went on to lose.

The Blues were just one step away from sealing the coveted victory as they entered Sunday’s game leading 3-2 in their best-of-seven series against the Bruins.

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The team’s home rink advantage on game six was expected to give an extra boost to the players who were on the verge of claiming the franchise’s first-ever championship title.

The team’s potential triumph became one of the most discussed topics in St. Louis, with some media outlets starting to arrange eccentric celebrations in advance.

Hours before the game began, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch released ads in their subscriber-only e-edition of the paper which were apparently supposed to be published in Monday’s edition.

However, one of the prematurely-published ads included tributes to the team and congratulations on claiming an historic Stanley Cup victory.

A Twitter user shared screenshots of the e-edition, featuring a photo of the Blues ‘celebrating their triumph’ along with the caption “Congratulations to our champions, the St. Louis Blues.”

The pre-arranged celebrations caused a stir on social media, with many fans accusing the paper of jinxing the team as the Blues lost the sixth game of the series with a crushing score of 1-5.

The city’s largest daily newspaper apologized for the leak, which they had not intended to make public.

“In preparation for the outcome of the Stanley Cup Final, some of our readers got a sneak peek at what our advertisers are hoping to say to the Blues, the fans and St. Louis," the statement read.

"We apologize for the sneak peek, and hope to share their messages with everyone very soon!”