What Went Wrong: You Have to Play SIXTY Minutes, Blues

This was quite the wild series between the Winnipeg Jets and the St. Louis Blues, wasn't it? The Blues weren't supposed to be here. They were supposed to be in tear it down/rebuilding mode, but a funny thing happened after the Four Nations break: they forgot how to lose games. A huge tear in March that included winning twelve straight games, and all of a sudden, the Blues were in the playoffs just two years after they decided to tear it down.

It was a tale of two series. The first games in Winnipeg saw the Blues get close, but no cigar. The three games in St. Louis? Blowouts. They dominated Connor Hellebuyck in their three wins, which saw him pulled in each one. Game Seven saw Playoff Hellebuyck continue to emerge. Two quick goals in the first, and a 3-1 Blues lead after two periods. That was the score entering the final two minutes of regulation. It was over. It was done. I was going to have to deal with a Blues/Stars Central Final.

Until I wasn't.

Vladislav Namestnikov cut St. Louis' lead to one, but it still seemed like a longshot for the Jets. Then, at 19:57, Cole Perfetti ties it up. We had overtime, which turned into double overtime. It did look like triple overtime was a possibility, but Adam Lowry put the kibosh on that. The longest game of Round 1, and the third longest Game Seven in Stanley Cup Playoff history, ended, as did the Blues' season. As I said before, the Blues were not supposed to be here. But not only did they make it, they were very, very close to becoming part of the Elite Eight. That's amazing as hell.

However, even so, there's one thing that went wrong: they did not finish Game Seven. The Blues had to play 60 minutes. Not just 20, not just 40. Not just 58, and not even 59:57. It has to be sixty minutes. Even with that drawback, the Blues entered this postseason basically playing with house money, so it's still a success for them.

The amazing attribute who the points leader was for the Blues in this series. You would think it would be Jordan Kyrou, but he only had three points--all of them in the net. Robert Thomas had eight points (2G/6A) in the series, but that didn't lead the team, either. The honor of being the points leader for the Blues actually went to Cam Fowler, the defenseman who was traded from Anaheim this season. Fowler (who played his entire career in Anaheim until the trade) finished with ten points (2G/8A), with five of those points coming in Game Three. Fowler had never had a five-point game until Game Three.

The St. Louis Blues have a lot to be proud of this season. This was a season of improbable playoff appearances: Ottawa, Montréal, and St. Louis. The Blues were expected to continue their rebuild, but they shocked the world and became part of the big dance. They even came within an eyelash of advancing to this year's Elite Eight! With all of that, I would think that the only thing this team has to do now is find some way to build off this and keep that momentum going for next season. Imagine how dangerous this Blues team could be if they manage to add a very key piece. Wow!

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