Tonight was the thing that the Blues needed to get into the playoffs with a bit of momentum. Their 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars to close out the season saw the Blues finish with the second fewest goals allowed all time, and with the second best record in franchise history.
The Blues pulled ahead by two on a goal by Alexander Steen, scored on a powerplay graciously given to St. Louis by Loui Eriksson. The potential future Lady Byng winner made a rare mistake, and his team paid the price:
It was debatable as to whether or not this was David Perron or Alex Steen, but the goal’s credit was later changed to Steen’s.
Ryan Garbutt, who earlier got into a little bit of a scrap with Barret Jackman, brought the Stars back up within one with his wrister past Jaroslav Halak:
David Perron would have nothing of that, wristing his own shot over the blocker side of Richard Bachman.
That was Perron’s 21st goal during his abbreviated 57 game season, and seemed enough to get the Blues safely to the last horn. This wouldn’t be a Blues game without a little bit of dramatics, and the Blues let Phillip Larsen squeak one past Halak with just over three minutes to go in the game.
Luckily the Blues were able to hold on, concluding one of the best seasons in franchise history. Their first round opponent is unknown as of this writing, as with a Vancouver loss they have the chance to finish first in the Western Conference, and the seventh and eighth seeds won’t be set until the L.A. Kings and San Jose Sharks finish their game.
Check back in the morning to SB Nation St. Louis for a first round preview, and later tomorrow for the schedule for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.