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

7. Game 4/5 vs San Jose overall (Schwartz 2nd hat trick)

Here we come to a more overall view of the team. The Blues were on the edge of a knife more than once during this playoff run, but none of it seemed more precarious than after that certain infamous incident in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.

The Blues could have easily folded. Nobody would have really faulted them if they let emotion get the best of them after an an incident like that, but they went the other direction.

Instead of caving in like so many other Blues teams had in the past, this one just brushed their shoulders off and went back to work. If we had any doubts about how they would respond after Game 3, they left no doubt come Game 4.

As they had done so often throughout the playoffs, the Blues struck early. In fact, it took less than a minute for the Blues to show the San Jose Sharks and the world that they were not even slightly demoralized.

Sure, it was a lucky goal that went in off a defender’s stick. You cannot take credit away from the forecheck that threw Brent Burns, a perennial Norris Trophy candidate, off his game and caused the giveaway first though.

That set the tone and then the Blues finished it off later in the period.

Trying to fix an already floundering power play, Craig Berube sent out the second unit to start off a late period power play. He got rewarded as the Blues scored less than 10 seconds into the man advantage.

The Blues would play stifling defense the rest of the game. San Jose would manage a late goal to make things nervous, but the Blues were not going to be outdone on that night or any of the rest.

They proved they were not just riding high on emotion in Game 5. Showing they were the ultimate road team, they came out and absolutely crushed the Sharks in Game 5.

The Blues would win by a score of 5-0. Jordan Binnington not only got the first playoff shutout of his career, but it came in the Western Conference Final of all places, when the pressure is as tight as a drum.

The Blues looked nervy to start and San Jose hit the post 10 seconds in, but the Note calmed down. It took a little longer to get the first goal, but Oskar Sundqvist left no doubt by hammering home a goal just before the six-minute mark.

It was all Blues after that. In fact, the Blues got their second hat trick of the playoffs out of Schwartz, who apparently just needed a little breather against Dallas.

It was a crazy game. Binnington earned every bit of his shutout and had some good fortune. Tarasenko scored on a penalty shot, which was the first such occurrence in Blues history and you have the hatty from Schwartz.

Those two games did not finish off the Sharks, but they put the nails in the coffin that would be hammered home in the following game.