Fair or not, more than a few people will linger on this fact: the St. Louis Blues have put together strong regular seasons followed by first-round exits for two straight seasons.
The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Blues 5-1 in Game 6 to win the series 4-2 after the Blues took a 2-0 series lead. This contest was the only one that broke from a narrative that bore a downright eerie resemblance to the way St. Louis lost to the Los Angeles Kings in 2013:
It's Deja Blues all over again: pic.twitter.com/LdnsMBysiH
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) April 27, 2014
Many will bury Ryan Miller for this loss and maybe even this failure overall, and the optics certainly aren’t flattering. The Blues absolutely dominated the second period in particular, yet the third period began tied 1-1 ... and then everything fell apart in a big way.
Q: "We were definitely lucky to be 1-1 going into the 3rd period." #Blackhawks #NHL
— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) April 27, 2014
Miller allowed four goals in that final frame, with Jonathan Toews notching another game-winning goal 44 seconds into the third. Patrick Sharp made it 3-1 a little more than two minutes into the third period and then things devolved from there.
Toews' 9th career playoff GWG puts him in nine-way tie for 51st all time. He's 25.
— Tal Pinchevsky (@TalPinch) April 27, 2014
The “What if?” questions pile up for the Blues, including the hypothetical situation in which this might have been called a goal:
Special teams may also be a sore spot for St. Louis. The Blues power play went 0-for-6 on Sunday while Chicago went 1-for-2 (and that power-play goal was Toews’ game-winner).
In a way, this highlights the often brutally small line between success and failure in sports. Despite being close to taking the defending champions down - and much closer in this game than the score indicated - the Blues can only look at this season as a failure unless they’re extreme optimists.
I understand injuries. I know stuff happens. They drew the defending champ. But team was all in. Season is a failure.
— Brad Lee (@GTBradLee) April 27, 2014
As far as the “What’s next?” question, we’ll have to wait and see with the Blues. For the Blackhawks, it’s all about awaiting their second-round opponent as the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild duke it out.
