The 2016 playoffs were a fun ride for the St. Louis Blues. They were filled with ups and downs, great moments and poor performances. Here we’ll look at the top five.
Now that the season has had a couple weeks to kind of settle, we have a little more opportunity to appreciate the 2015-16 season. It’s easy to see the playoffs as a failure because the St. Louis Blues did not win the championship. However, the idea that all 29 teams that do not win are failures just doesn’t seem right.
There are levels of success and the Blues found a higher level than they have in 15 years and almost had their best season since they made the finals in 1970. To call that a failure seems extreme.
In that vein we’re going to list the top five games from the Blues’ playoff run in 2016.
5. Game 4 vs. San Jose
Utter domination. There is little else to describe the St. Louis Blues performance in Game 4 of their Western Conference matchup with the San Jose Sharks.
The Blues were in a must-win scenario after losing Game 2 at home and Game 3 on the road. While 3-1 isn’t as big of a deficit in hockey as it is other sports, it would have been unlikely for the Blues to win three straight in order to win the series.
Knowing this, they came out and took care of business. They scored two goals in the first and two in the second. They dominated special teams as well, going 2-4 on the powerplay and killing off all five penalties against the vaunted Sharks’ powerplay.
The Blues scored on the powerplay a little over six minutes in and did not let up. Kyle Brodziak, of all people, scored two goals himself in the second period.
One of those goals was shorthanded, scored on a beautiful two-on-one and set up by Jaden Schwartz. That, in and of itself, was enough to show the Blues were not going to be denied. The Blues added two more in the third period, ultimately winning 6-3.
The game wasn’t a perfect performance. The Blues actually got outshot 34-27, but clearly made the most of the chances they were given. Jake Allen was also very solid. The shots he faced weren’t all huge saves, but he made several quality ones and although three goals went in, even his coach admitted that it was technically only one.
In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter much. The Blues went on to lose the next two and lose the series 4-2. However, at the time, it was a big game and a big win.
It showed once again that if the Blues played their game for a full 60 minutes, they could compete and even dominate against anyone. It put the team within two wins of a Stanley Cup final and renewed hope.
4. Game 7 vs. Dallas Stars
Another domination game. Following an incredibly disappointing 3-2 loss at home, where the Blues had a chance to wrap up the series and get some extra rest, the Blues once again left little doubt who the better team was.
It was again the powerplay that sparked the Blues surge. Robby Fabbri scored on the man advantage a little over five minutes in. The Blues were able to put their foot on the Stars throat from there on out.
They scored three in the first period, two in the second and were up 5-0 before Dallas finally stuck one in the back of the net. Vladimir Tarasenko put the final nail in the coffin though and the Blues would crush the Stars 6-1 and extinguish their championship hopes.
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The game was big for more than just winning against the Stars. The Blues had vanquished the top regular season team in the Western Conference.
They had held one of the top offences in the conference to only a goal and a meaningless one at that. Similarly to their big win over San Jose, they dominated the special teams battle with a powerplay goal in two chances and killing off all three Stars powerplays.
Even more than that, the Blues had done something they had not in 15 years. They were going to the Western Conference Finals. They were four wins away from playing for hockey’s holy grail.
Yes, it had taken them more games than it should have, but they did it. The team shrugged off the bitter disappointment of not winning in front of their home fans. They stood up and played Blues hockey when it was needed most, again, and gave themselves an opportunity to go further than the franchise had in over 40 years.
3. Game 3 vs. Chicago
This one was big from a mental standpoint. St. Louis had split the two games at home, sneaking out an OT win to start the series and being shut down by a hot goaltender in the next game.
To make matters worse, the Blackhawks scored the opening goal of this game, igniting the usually hot crowd at the United Center. The goal came in the early stages, with the ‘Hawks scoring just over two minutes into the contest. It could have set the tone and things could have gone very wrong from there, given the Blues’ recent history.
St. Louis battled back though. Colton Parayko unleashed a bomb on the powerplay to tie up the game a little over halfway through the first frame and it stayed tied.
Chicago again took the lead early in the second period. Artem Anisimov scored 64 seconds into the middle frame and Chicago unleashed the fury in the period. St. Louis weathered the storm, getting outshot 24-13 in the period and Brian Elliott kept them in the game.
Elliott was a huge part of this game as he would be throughout the playoffs. He stopped 44 of 46 shots, taking the bulk of them in the first two periods and providing the Blues with every opportunity to poach one of their own and giving them the confidence to go forward, knowing he was not going to be beaten.
The Blues would not be denied in the third. In what would become a habit throughout the playoffs, the Blues would save their best for last.
They outshot the Blackhawks 14-12 and put two into the back of the net. The Blues won the game 3-2 and took a series lead of 2-1.
Taking a 2-1 series lead was not a big deal just by the number. It was an enormous deal by how and when it came. Not only had the Blues defeated Chicago, but they had done so on the road. The Blues had not won a game after the second game of any series in four years.
It rid them of at least one monkey on their back. They had won on the road, they had defeated one of their playoff demons on the road and won a game later in the series than any of them had experienced in quite some time. It gave the Blues a lot of belief that they would put to the test further on down the road.
Next: Top Two Playoff Games of 2016