Blues right wing T.J. Oshie

By LOU KORAC
HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- Blues players were on hand Wednesday to clean out their lockers and belongings one final time after their season ended in the Western Conference First Round series against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Blues right wing T.J. Oshie, who captivated a country with his shootout performance at the Sochi Olympics, became engaged and a first-time father, answered questions on a variety of season-ending issues:

On surprise that killer instinct is still missing:
Yeah, it does. I think just because of how far we've come offensively, some guys had some good years and put up some good numbers and throughout the whole lineup we had scoring from everywhere and it just didn't happen in the Chicago series.

On wanting to see the group stay together:
I'd like to see it stay together. There's a lot of guys in this locker room, a lot pieces to the puzzle that are all coming together. I think they have come together, I just think we need to play better when it counts, a little more so than when it's just the regular season.

On this being a step back:
It feels like a big letdown, I don't know if it's a step back. But it's hard, it's so early, it's so fresh that it's hard to really ... we're still all in a little bit of shock and awe, I think, that we're not coming to the rink and practicing still. So, it's hard ... I think everyone feels the same way. No one feels worse than the players do: the coaches, the general manager, the fans ... no one feels worse about losing out than the players do. It's hard, it's hard to talk about.

It's so fresh that it's really hard to look back on and reflect right now. The shock is still kind of there of why we're not there.

On watching playoffs:
I probably won't watch anything. I don't know. it'll probably make me a little mad. I don't know what watching would do for me.

On offensive problems in postseason:
Obviously we're not there offensively, where we need to be to win games. ... Bottom line is, guys like me and 'Backs' and 'Steener,' we have to lead the charge. Even if other people weren't scoring, that means we have to score more. So I think a lot of it falls on us three to lead the charge in the offensive department and everywhere else on the ice.

On Ryan Miller's performance:
I think he played great. There was a lot of saves that he made from when I was there in Games 3-6 that could have turned for the worse earlier than it did. I think he was great. As a team though we all have to get better, me and everyone.