St. Louis Blues Took a Big Step Forward in this Postseason

The San Jose Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-2 Wednesday night in San Jose to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history. It was a similar ending for the St. Louis Blues as they lost a Game 6 on the road, eliminating them from the postseason.

The big difference was, this was an exit in the Western Conference Final, instead of an exit in the first round like in the previous three years. This playoff run was much needed for the Blues as they definitely took a big step forward.

San Jose is playing in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history because they were the better team. It’s that simple. The Sharks had the Blues’ number all season long and their star players stepped up, while the Blues’ star players didn’t. Joe Pavelski delivered in the clutch and Vladimir Tarasenko, for whatever reason, was missing in action.

Another reason why San Jose won this series is because St. Louis had so much trouble closing out Chicago and Dallas when they had the chance. The Blues could have defeated the Blackhawks in five games and the Stars in six, but both series went the distance. A seven-game series against the defending Stanley Cup Champions and the top seed in the Western Conference finally caught up to the Blues in this series. Meanwhile, the Sharks defeated the Kings in five games.

Despite not winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, this was an incredible run for the Blues, making their first Western Conference Final appearance since 2001. They haven’t been this close to winning a Stanley Cup since 1986. There is a lot to look forward to for this franchise as rookies Robby Fabbri, Colton Parayko, and Joel Edmundson have bright futures ahead and we can expect bigger and better things from them and this team next season.

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While the Blues’ playoff run can be considered a success, there are still a lot of questions. Why was this team so inconsistent? Why couldn’t this team take care of home-ice? Why couldn’t this team find a killer instinct?

That is what hurt the Blues.  After beating the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the top seed in the Western Conference and the Presidents’ Trophy winners were eliminated, it seemed like this team had all the momentum and arguably had the best shot out of the four teams remaining to win it all.

This felt like a missed opportunity even after reaching this far, but the disappointment of not winning it all after coming so close can make this team hungry.  They should be even more determined heading into next season, which should be a lot of fun to look forward to.

This will be an interesting off season ahead. What will happen with Ken Hitchcock and Doug Armstrong? Also, what to do with Kevin Shattenkirk, David Backes, Troy Brouwer and others?

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There should be a lot of momentum heading into next year. This team still has a bright future ahead of them. It will be the 50th season of this franchise, a Winter Classic will be at Busch Stadium against the Blackhawks and coming off a Western Conference Final appearance could pay huge dividends for this club.