USA TODAY US Edition

Blues go from last place to first Final since 1970

- Kevin Allen Columnist USA TODAY

No one in St. Louis was standing around at New Year’s Eve parties talking about the Blues’ chances of advancing to the Stanley Cup Final.

On Jan. 2, the Blues were last in the NHL standings.

But the Blues continued one of the most impressive in-season turnaround­s in NHL history when they downed the injury-depleted Sharks 5-1 Tuesday night in Game 6 to win the Western Conference final and earn a place in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1970.

The Blues, who have never won a Stanley Cup championsh­ip, will face the Bruins in the best-of-seven Final starting Monday in Boston. When the Blues were last in the Final, they were swept by the Bruins.

The Sharks played Game 6 without Erik Karlsson, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl, who are all injured.

Brayden Schenn, who has played well for the Blues in this series, scored his first goal in 14 games.

How did the Blues turn around their season?

❚ Rookie goalie Jordan Binnington:

Taking over the No. 1 job from Jake Allen, Binnington was 24-5-1 in the regular season and is 12-7 in the playoffs.

❚ Coach Craig Berube’s influence:

The former NHL tough guy, named interim coach in November after Mike Yeo was fired, brought more consistenc­y, accountabi­lity and aggressive­ness. The Blues are more relentless on the forecheck. They are more difficult to play against.

❚ Offseason acquisitio­ns: General manager Doug Armstrong boldly traded

for Ryan O’Reilly, who was the team’s top point producer this season and has 14 points in the playoffs, including three assists in Game 6. Armstrong signed David Perron, who scored 23 goals this season. He had a goal and an assist in Game 6. Others such as center Tyler Bozak (Game 6 goal) and gritty role player Patrick Maroon have contribute­d.

❚ Vladimir Tarasenko factor: He didn’t have his best season, but he has scored 33 or more goals for five consecutiv­e seasons. He had three goals and eight points in the series against the Sharks. He scored a power-play goal in Game 6.

❚ Defense got right: After underachie­ving early in the season, the Blues’ defense found a higher level of play in the second half. Binnington rightfully got most of the credit for the team’s reduced goals-against average, but the defense played a role. The defense played well against the Sharks’ dangerous offense. The Blues gave up only two goals to the Sharks in the last three games of the series. Alex Pietrangel­o picked up an assist in Game 6 to establish a Blues record of 13 points by a defenseman in a postseason.

 ?? JEFF CURRY/USA TODAY SPORTS ?? Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, left, is congratula­ted by center Tyler Bozak after his first-period goal Tuesday.
JEFF CURRY/USA TODAY SPORTS Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, left, is congratula­ted by center Tyler Bozak after his first-period goal Tuesday.
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