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

4. Jay Bouwmeester stops go-ahead goal for Dallas in Game 6

One of the moments that will fade over time, thus why I am putting it on the list so it is not forgotten, is one by a forgotten man and not a goal. So, even though other things would never have happened without this moment, it will fade.

Nevertheless, it cannot be overstated how important Jay Bouwmeester was for the Blues during the entire playoff run and the Dallas series in particular.

Bouwmeester and Parayko became the team’s shutdown pair early on, but we really saw it on display against Dallas. The Jets were able to get enough to keep their lines mainly intact. The Stars had to shuffle their lineup, as did the Sharks and Bruins, to attempt to spread out scoring and keep certain players away from this tandem.

Bouwmeester is always remembered for his fumbles and mistakes, but he could not have come up bigger than he did against Dallas. While we will all remember the overtime heroics, the game almost never made it to any extra time.

Dallas was coming. They were threatening and did not want it to go into the extra frame and the Blues were trying to hold on.

The Stars utilized speed as Roope Hintz blazed down the left wing and had Binnington beat on the wrap around. In real time, you could not see what happened and most thought Binnington got it or Hintz hit the post. Neither was true.

As you learned from each, progressive replay, it was Bouwmeester that got over and denied the goal. The last replay showed it best.

If that puck does not hit Bouwmeester’s stick first, Hintz likely has an easy stuff in. Instead, Big Bouw threw a wrench in the works and the puck clicked off the post to be cleared later.

It won’t show in the stat sheet, but it was a monumental game for Bouwmeester. He played over 32 minutes in that game and almost all of them were hard minutes going up against guys who were in grade school when he began his career.

None of the moments were bigger than that one. Without that block, there is no overtime. There is no series against the Sharks or final against the Bruins.

Without that block, Hintz scores and the Blues play golf. Without that block, we are discussing how the Blues overhaul their roster yet again instead of basking in the glory of winning it all.

It will not be remembered by most. It should be remembered by all.