A common theme for professional sports teams is to have a rallying cry that captures an entire city. Whether it is a simple statement such as “Play Like a Champion Today” or an object such as a Terrible Towel or even a song that is over 30 years old. The St. Louis Blues had the Laura Branigan classic “Gloria”, played at their arena the entire season when the Blues would win. But this ride may not have been so glorious, pun intended, had the Blues not gone through some growing pains throughout this season.
By mid-November, the Blues were no where near what they were projected to be at when the season began. They fired 2nd year coach Mike Yeo and hired former player Craig Berube as interim (I think he’s outgrown it, but we’ll get to that.) But the team kept losing. By January 2nd, the Blues had fallen to dead last in the NHL and were seen as the team that would land the No. 1 Overall Pick in the NHL Draft. But, here was where the tables started to turn.
On January 7th, due to the inconsistent play of then starting goalie Jake Allen, the Blues started rookie Jordan Binnington. He was a scrawny kid out of Richmond Hill, Ontario that looked more like a high school geek than an NHL goalie. He would begin his NHL career by going 13-1-1 in his first 15 games. While this kid started to show some strength, the rest of the team picked up their play that was lacking. Vladimir Tarasenko became the deadly Russian “Scary Terry” again and put fear in NHL teams. Ryan O’Reilly played at a level unlike any other Blue, leading the team in assists and points and was the only Blue at the NHL All-Star Game. He has even been nominated for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward. With this trio leading the charge, the Blues began a spirited charge towards the playoffs.
In the first round, they drew the heavily favored Winnipeg Jets. Binnington was nothing short of sensational and the Blues went through Winnipeg with a mix of speed and physical defensive play against the Jets deadly end-to-end game. The Blues were able to cruise through Game 6 behind a hat trick from Jaden Schwartz and looked to the second round were a more demanding team awaited. The Dallas Stars had defeated the Central Division Champion Nashville Predators in the 1st round behind Vezina-finalist goaltender Ben Bishop. They were picked to beat the Blues by many, and possibly go to the Finals, no matter the Conference final foe. But this Blues team took blows and gave it right back. They went to Game 7 and it was the hometown boy Patrick Maroon who scored the double-overtime goal to win the series.
In the Conference Final, the Blues drew the speedy and deadly San Jose Sharks, who had beaten the defending Conference Champion Vegas Golden Knights in the 1st round and Colorado in the 2nd. The Blues were in tough it seemed and a miserable first game made people think the Blues aren’t ready. But the Blues, as they had in the past, took blows and dished them right back in full measure. They clawed and kicked to beat the Sharks in 6 games and advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 49 years.
But they were more of an underdog in the Finals than they were in any of the previous 3 rounds. They drew the Boston Bruins, a team that is the Dallas Cowboys of the NHL, the most hated and beloved team in the country. The Blues came to the Boston Garden and split the first two games, split the next four and again drew a do or die Game 7 in Boston. They showed the resilience that had been shown since January 2nd and, behind Conn Smythe winner Ryan O’Reilly, won Game 7 4-1 and hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history, causing fans in St Louis to blast Gloria and enjoy their first non-baseball championship since 1999.
This is the greatest comeback story in sports history and one that may never be matched.
The Art of Sports 