The Blues are finally in the midst of a deep playoff run

For years Blues fans have hoped for a deep playoff run. For years the Blues have exited far too early. Finally that has changed. Finally the Blues are making a deep playoff run and they took another big step with a ridiculous 6-1 win over the Dallas Stars in Game 7.

The Blues are returning to the Western Final for the first time since 2001.

Let that sentence sink in for a second. The Blues, the team known for its incredibly shallow playoff runs, is now halfway to the ultimate goal of the Stanley Cup and will compete in the Western Final. It feels ridiculous to even type that out and perhaps even more ridiculous to say out loud.

This is what Blues fans have been pulling for over the years. A huge hurdle remains in the form of the Western Final, but the Blues are the closest they have been to a Cup in 15 years. The last appearance in the Western Final didn’t go too well (a 4-1 series loss to the Avalanche), but that’s not even in the picture. Just eight wins separate the Blues from the best prize in sports.

It’s easy to look ahead when the Cup is seemingly this close. Of course the best advice for the looming Western Final is to take things one game at a time. The Blues have surprised even the most loyal Blues fans by winning two consecutive Game 7s and they’ve continually rebounded after an ugly effort. The broken record which has been a lack of urgency, killer instinct and so on has been booted off the record player and replaced with a record of complete efforts, grinding play and clinical finishing.

Need a quick summary of how the Blues have made it this far? A full team effort.

That’s it. It’s really that simple. The Blues have been turning in a full team effort and players across the roster and across the lines are all chipping in. Different heroes have emerged and the Blues are finally seeing production beyond just Vladimir Tarasenko. The goaltending as a whole has been outstanding. Specials teams have been outstanding. Just about everyone has been outstanding. In the past, it was easy to pick and choose the top performers but now there are more than a handful of players you could spend multiple articles praising.

And that’s what needs to continue for the Blues to advance to the next level – another full team effort.