St. Louis Blues: Why Game 6’s Loss Was Such A Gut Punch

The St. Louis Blues have had much worse losses in their franchise history. None might have hurt quite as much as the one in Game 6 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

By now, we have all had about a full day to digest the St. Louis Blues loss in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. Even so, it feels like we are all still processing things in our own way.

On the one hand, you cannot eulogize the Blues after one bad game. They still have the Stanley Cup in front of them and fully within reach.

However, the loss in Game 6 hit many fans harder than any of us could have anticipated. Maybe we got too far ahead of ourselves or maybe we fooled ourselves into thinking it would be easy. Whatever the reason, it surely was a punch to the gut to lose in the final possible home game of the season.

The clear and obvious answer for those that were fortunate enough to go to the game is the money. You try to justify it by saying it is a once in a lifetime experience and that is correct. However, when you spend anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 or more, it is hard to not take that into account.

For some people that is chump change and for others that is a huge portion of their normal budget. No matter how much you spend, it is a lot of money to spend on one event and not get the result you hoped for.

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That part does not fall on the players. They do not and cannot care how much a ticket is going for. That is just the market fleshing out what people are willing to attend. Still, it took a chunk out of plenty of people’s bank accounts.

Even if you take the money spent out of it, the problem was it never really felt like a Stanley Cup Final game. Those that watched it on television apparently got a different view (as did a few in attendance), but many felt the air rush out of the Enterprise Center the moment when Boston scored their first goal.

Whether the Blues created some chances or not, it never really felt like they were going to get back into the game. It was 1-0 for the longest time and the Blues were never out of it. Still, you had this sinking feeling that it was going to take something extremely special or lucky to get them back in and that never happened.

Making matters worse, the Blues were their own worst enemy. They were sloppy in a way we have not seen in quite some time.

St. Louis had 12 giveaways and many of them came in the so-called gray areas on either side of the blue lines. Whether it was bad ice or just bad passing, the Blues just looked completely out of sorts for long stretches.

Lastly, the reason Game 6 was such a blow was the fact you could see the light at the end of the tunnel and it suddenly went dark out of nowhere. It was like having everything you’ve ever wanted placed right before you and told you had to move along because someone else was trying to take it too.

Blues fans, and the team, have no right to the Stanley Cup. Just because we have waited longer than any other team in the NHL means nothing.

Still, Blues fans want it so badly and it was finally within our grasp. No matter what we told ourselves about how tough Boston was going to be and they would not lay down and nothing was for certain, deep down, most of us were planning the next step. Most of us were wondering what a parade might be like and when it would be scheduled.

Adding a little salt to the wound, you know there are Boston fans out there saying St. Louis losing is justice for the missed call. We would all be saying the same thing if roles were reversed, so I hold no ill will toward it, but when it is your team and you know they are not dirty and know they have done so much to get here only to constantly be disrespected, it just touches that nerve.

The entire city was ready. St. Louis will always be a baseball town at heart, but the Blues were getting their due for once.

The emotion of the pregame was palpable. Lumps were fully within throats right from the point they lowered the lights. Seeing the alumni all there ready to celebrate with everyone was poignant as well.

The Blues fans still did themselves proud, despite the score. Many of them stayed until the bitter final buzzer and many of those continued to chant “Let’s Go Blues!” even with their team down by four goals. Fans might not deserve a win, but they deserved better than they got.

Whether you had just jumped on the bandwagon or been around since 1967, everyone was on the same page and everyone was happy. To have that taken away so suddenly is difficult to handle.

As mentioned, everyone is dealing with it in their own way. Some are downtrodden and sullen. Others still keep the faith and think the next game will be the eventual celebration.

All we know for sure is the Blues have one more game before the long summer. Maybe they will win and maybe Blues fans will still get to celebrate.

It will be as sweet as we all hoped no matter how it comes, but it just won’t be quite the same. An explosion is still an explosion even if there is a delay, but when it does not happen at the time expected, there is a letdown.

Like the team itself, fans have to pick themselves up and move on. We all need to dust ourselves off now because there is one more game. One last chance for the ultimate glory.