The Blues Took The Sharks Off Life Support And Advanced To The Stanley Cup Final

Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals followed the exact same template as the last two games in this series, as the Blues got out to an early lead and kept it, eliminating the banged-up Sharks in front of an uncontainable home crowd whose force almost rivaled the storms outside. St. Louis earned themselves a long-awaited rematch with the Boston Bruins—who swept them in 1970, the Blues’ last Final appearance—by beating the Sharks 5-1.

The Blues took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, and they held control really the entire night, as Jordan Binnington made 25 saves to once again keep the Sharks under two goals. But if there was a turning point, it was this save off the line by Colton Parayko halfway through the game, after the Sharks had managed to cut the lead to 2-1.

Just a couple of minutes later, Brayden Schenn basically sealed the victory. The Blues center, who hadn’t scored since Game 5 in the first round, tapped in a rebound on the power play to make it 3-1, and then he broke his stick in elated celebration.

A few more goals and one “Country Roads” singalong later, the Blues had won and advanced to the Final, where they’ll likely open as underdogs against a Bruins team that hasn’t lost since April. The very last moment that the Blues had in the Final was that iconic Bobby Orr goal, but that was 49 years ago—long before any of these current Blues picked up a stick. More than any other American franchise, the Blues deserved a shot at the Cup, and if the team that was stuck in last place back in January can manage to knock off Boston, of all teams, it’ll be quite the glorious turnaround.