Blues move onto Conference Finals

[Singin the BLUES]

Pretty much since the start of the season, everybody had already written off the St Louis Blues. They were all saying that they weren't good enough, weren't fast enough, weren't tough enough. But since April 16th the players on that team have only had one thing on their minds, the Stanley Cup. As Marty St Louis put it " it ain't no thing until you get that ring". And that is exactly what this team is striving for. Not too long ago they traded away Cal Clutterbuck and a 5th rounder for Loui Eriksson. That trade was primarily a cap dump for the Blues. Eriksson came in and accepted his role on the 4th line, a spot he has never been in through his whole career. One trade that nobody seen coming was the Blues sending Erik Johnson to Colorado in exchange for Dougie Hamilton. Hamilton came to the Blues and was a major part of their success with his hitting ability and his shot blocking. Hamilton said " All i want to do is win a Cup, and i could see the passion in the dressing with all these guys and the heart that they all have is simply amazing to say the least". The other trade that had alot of people shaking their heads was bringing in Tobias Enström. Yes Enstrom has a big contract but looking at his stats he had a career high and a team high for +/- with a +25. Enstrom says " Coming to St Louis i knew it was a chance to prove myself, to renew my career. Robyn Regehr help me refine my game to the point where i seem to be at the right place at the right time to make the plays i needed to make.".

One player that has evolved his game is Ryan Spooner. He had alot of people wondering why he was on the top line for this team and he showed them exactly what he can do. He is a faceoff specialist plain and simple, and with Marion Gaborik on one side and Marty St Louis on the other, he couldn't do no wrong. Spooner says " Playing with Gabs and Marty really helped my game alot. With the history they have in the league and the leadership they bring, it helped alot."

The Blues have had their powerplay kick in when needed and are only behind the Pens for powerplay goals. And powerplay goals are not that easy to come by in the playoffs in EHEC. Lars Eller is a mainstay on the powerplay for the Blues, pretty much their main set up man and hopefully that will carry onto the next round.

Speaking of the next round, the Blues have no idea who they will be playing. Team captain Marty St Louis said " it doesn't matter if it is the Ducks or the Flames, we will be ready for them. The extra time off will allow us to watch videos and see exactly how each team works and we can exploit their weaknesses and try to make them pay for it."

So whether it is the Ducks or the Flames as their next opponents, the Blues seem ready and willing to keep their Cinderella story going and strive to get to the Cup finals against either the Pens or whomever the winner of the Montreal and Tampa Bay series is. But alot of people are putting their money on the Pens to come out of the east and if that is the case, the Blues will have their hands full. And their hands will already be full against either the Ducks or the Flames. But as everyone has already seen, this Blues team is not an easy team to beat considering that they have only lost once in regulation so far in the playoffs, a feat that not even the Pens have on their resume. So lets get ready and see how this team will do against a tough opponent, no matter who wins in the other West series, it will for sure be a great match up.