St. Louis Blues: Why Washington Winning Is Good For The Blues
By Todd Panula
The St. Louis Blues have been waiting 50 years for that elusive Stanley Cup. While they keep waiting, the most recent champion should give Blues fans hope.
The St. Louis Blues are in that category of always a bridesmaid, never a bride. It has been that way for 50 years. Whether you’ve been there for all 50 or just a couple, we all hope it’s not another 50 before the streak comes to an end.
As Blues fans, we will keep waiting because that’s what we do. There are fans out there that pretend to give up. They convince themselves they won’t put up with the heartbreak. It’s all nonsense because so few ever actually follow through.
One day our sorrows will end. The fact that the Washington Capitals are 2017-18 Stanley Cup champions gives us reason to think the end is not so far off.
The Capitals have been just as cursed as the Blues, perhaps just not for as long. They’ve had similar issues as well.
The Capitals have struggled getting by certain teams in the playoffs, just as St. Louis has. They’ve had problems with their best player coming up in crunch time, just as the Blues have.
The Capitals have goalie issues. That’s the ever present issue for St. Louis, no matter what era you think of, with the exception of those early years.
Getting Over The Opponent Hump
The biggest reason fans were hoping that 2015-16 was the Blues year was the fact that St. Louis knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago had long stood in the way of Blues championship pursuits and beating them seemed like the first step.
Perhaps doing it in the first round was too early. The Capitals had playoff ghosts of their own.
Whether you’re talking about the early days of the franchise or the 90’s teams or even today’s squad, the Pittsburgh Penguins always seemed to have the Caps’ number.
Making matters worse for Washington, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby got drafted close enough for them to always draw comparisons. That added even more fuel to an already heated fire.
It seemed like destiny for Washington to win once they beat the Penguins. Things were not easy against Tampa, but when people look back on this championship, they’ll almost forget about the Lightning. Fans will remember beating Pittsburgh and then winning the final.
Who knows if Chicago will bounce back or if their cap issues will push them toward the back of the pack. Regardless, St. Louis has other rivals. Perhaps Nashville is now the hurdle St. Louis will need to jump over. Regardless, we have now seen that demons can be exercised.
Getting Past A Certain Round
Like the opponent hurdle, the Blues have had similar issues to the Caps in getting deep into the playoffs. Again, it seemed like 2015-16 was the year since the Blues got to the conference finals.
Still, learning from Washington’s perseverance is key. Ovechkin had never gotten past the second round. Once he and his teammates finally did, they were not going to be denied.
The Blues could have had that result, but they took too many games and too much energy in that previous season. If they learn from the Caps and their history, it can be done.
You need a lot of luck along the way. It can be done in St. Louis though.