As late as Jan. 2, the Blues were in last place overall in the NHL. Now they’re four wins away from the first Stanley Cup in franchise history after eliminating the Sharks in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night.
ST. LOUIS — The streamers fell from the ceiling and the fans sang along with « Gloria, » the 1980s pop classic repurposed as the St. Louis Blues’ official victory song, as it blared from the speakers in Enterprise Center.
Their 5-1 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals to eliminate the San Jose Sharks felt as inevitable as it felt improbable just over five months ago, when the Blues had the fewest points in the standings of any team in the NHL.
Now, they’re four wins away from the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
« I don’t understand yet, » said Vladimir Tarasenko after the win, which sent the Blues to face the Boston Bruins in the first Stanley Cup Final for St. Louis since 1970. « It feels a little weird. It seems like this year took forever. A lot of emotions. Negative from the start, positive in the end. I’m proud of every person here for what we achieved today. »
As late as Jan. 2, the Blues were in last place overall in the NHL. They had fired their coach, Mike Yeo, elevating AHL coach Craig Berube to the job on an interim basis. Adversity had struck. The Blues chose the right path to respond, building their trust and their chemistry until the wins started to arrive in bunches, including an 11-game winning streak that got them back into playoff contention.
Only four teams in the expansion era have reached the Final after ranking among the bottom three in the standings at any point after their 20th game: the 1968 Canadiens, 1968 Blues, 1991 North Stars and 2010 Flyers.
