St. Louis Blues Top 10 Moments Of 2018-19 NHL Playoffs

2. Handpass goal Game 3 vs San Jose

This was the most interesting choice, but it had to go here. It was one of the most awful moments in recent Blues history, if not near the top all time.

However, it also became the rallying point for this team. The Blues had tons of moments, each one included and some left off this list. Even with all those, I believe without the hand pass, the Blues might not have won the Stanley Cup.

Maybe St. Louis goes on to win that game in overtime. Maybe they still win the series against the Sharks.

There is nothing to say Berube might not have rallied them anyway. Or, perhaps if they won, they simply go on to roll through the rest of that series.

The Sharks were picking up injuries that had nothing to do with that moment. So, nobody can say it was a true turning point for how every, single moment went.

What it did signal was the kind of maturity and professionalism that nobody, not even the guys in that locker room, could know existed within that room until you have to go through a situation like that. It truly was a defining moment.

Instead of pleading their case in the media as so many other coaches did throughout the playoffs, Berube asked the reporter if they thought it was a hand pass, took that answer and said “there you go” and left it at that. The entire team followed suit.

The Blues expressed disappointment and frustration at losing, but did not dwell on the moment or focus on things out of their control. You could tell by their faces and the grit in their jawlines that it was a bitter pill to swallow. It taught them a lesson, however, and that would carry them through to the very pinnacle of their sport.

By now, we all know it was a hand pass. The league vaguely apologized, but salt was poured in the wound when the official scorers, who might not be chosen by the NHL but are their representatives, gave an assist to the very man who swatted the puck. So, though you are not allowed to purposely propel the puck with a glove to a teammate, the league was acknowledging contact was made.

Still, once the Blues won the next game, there was no turning back. After something that egregious was missed, there was no amount of adversity this team could not overcome, barring any catastrophic injury.

It was a moment that proved to fans, if not the nation, that this was the Blues playoffs to lose. Once they overcame that, not even the referees or any perceived NHL bias could deny them.

Boston was a better team than San Jose, but the Blues had already climbed their own mental hurdle. All that was left after that hand pass was to gather themselves and play hockey. Whenever they did that, they won and they only lost three more times the entire spring and none of those came against the Sharks