(4-25-19) Stars-Blues Game 1 Gameday Lineup

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The puck will finally drop for the Blues and Dallas Stars in Game 1 of the Western Conference second round today at 8:45 p.m. (NBCSN, KMOX 1120-AM).

And when the puck does drop, expect the Blues' shutdown defensive pair of Colton Parayko and Jay Bouwmeester to be seeing a lot of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov quite a bit.

The Stars' top line combined for 18 points (each with six) in their six-game series win in the first round against the Nashville Predators.

Parayko and Bouwmeester saw quite a bit of Winnipeg's top line of Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor, and that line accounted for 15 points against the Blues but none in the deciding Games 5 and 6, games the Blues won and took the series in six.

"I think they're all obviously offensive threats," Parayko said. "They use behind the net well and find each other up front, but these guys battle really hard and they work extremely hard for the puck. They're heavy, they're all big guys that go to the corners well and strip the puck from you. You've just got to make sure you know when they're on the ice and know where they are. Whenever you're facing the top line in this league, everyone's dangerous and deadly. One of the biggest things that makes them so good is they work hard. They're always on the puck and they keep hounding and hounding. That's what helps them the most."

Benn especially, who has 39 points in 39 regular-season games against the Blues, and he had five goals in the last two regular-season games against St. Louis.

"He's a nemesis for sure," Parayko said.

"It's a very good line. It's big and they can skate," Blues interim coach Craig Berube said. "They're like power forwards out there. We've got to do a good job against that line, definitely. If you look against Nashville, the points they produced in that series were important. You can look at it that way, it's different players, but it's a real good line like the Scheifele line."

- - -

David Perron's move to left wing this season is new here but not new to him.

Perron, who played primarily right wing all season long and into the playoff series against the Jets, was moved to the left side with Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko when Berube slipped Brayden Schenn back down to the second line at center.

Perron said it was a bit of a adjustment moving back to the left, where he played the entire season in 2017-18 with Vegas and put up career numbers with 66 points (16 goals, 50 assists).

"I played right all year. It was my first game on the left (Saturday)," he said. "I actually thought I struggled in some situations that maybe no one noticed, but I noticed because the way you handle pucks off the breakouts, the way you find plays are a little bit different. Even for having like a left center to pass to you on your strong side going down the zone, it's nice too, but it is what it is. Last year in Vegas, I played left wing all year and if you would have asked me in October, I would have chose left, so it is what it is right now and I think I'll be better for sure in those little situations next game just being used that way again."

It's Perron's off wing, so O'Reilly, who played with Perron earlier in the season but having Perron on the right side, feels it will come quickly.

"Oh yeah, obviously he’s an elite player and we’ve had success before," O'Reilly said. "I think it’s nice having the right-handed shot there with two lefties. With the way he creates, I think it makes us for those one-timers it makes us very aggressive and dangerous.

"... I think as a center, I just have to communicate more. I think if I’m communicating with my play and being underneath him and talking to him, that helps a lot, it gives him more time. When you’re on your offside, it’s a different protecting the puck, especially in the d-zone when the pucks are coming up there. It’s not as comfortable when you have to protect the puck different, so if I’m talking to him it should be able to give him some support. I thought offensively last game I thought we did a lot of good things. I thought we had plenty of chances and it’s something we’ve got to keep building."

The switch for Berube was pretty easy. He knew of Perron's play on his off wing and didn't hesitate making the change.

"He played the whole season last year in Vegas on the left," Berube said. "I think he had a career year point-wise. I didn't have any hesitation. I talked to him about it before, earlier on in the year and stuff about it, going to the left. He has no issue either way, I don't think."

- - -

Special teams could play a big role in the series.

The Blues are fourth in the playoffs at 26.3 percent, converting on five of 19 attempts against the Jets, while the Stars' penalty kill was a perfect 15-for-15 against the Predators in the first round.

It goes with the mantra of the Stars' ability to blanket teams and not allow much.

"Yeah, obviously we stressed on it, power play, we’ve got to be sharp," O'Reilly said. "It’s a good PK, it’s a confident PK right now and they’re going to come. We have to be on our toes and when we have our chances, when we have our opportunities to shoot the puck, we’ve got to shoot the puck and really try to break them down that way.

"I think (in the first round), it was just being that mentality of when the opportunity comes to shoot. Taking the good shot and going from there. When we can do that and have that mentality, that everyone knows it’s going to the net, it makes our recoveries that much quicker. We know we can respond and having the extra guy, that’s when things start to open up."

- - -

It's a bit of a happy homecoming for Stars goalie Ben Bishop, who grew up in the Des Peres, Mo. despite being born in Denver.

Bishop considers himself a St. Louis native and will have quite the following here and throughout the series. He grew up a Blues fan, was drafted by the Blues in the third round of the 2005 NHL Draft.

"It's always nice to come home," Bishop said. "Obviously St. Louis is a great city, a lot of great memories and it's nice coming home. At the same time, it's a business trip. Just focus on Game 1 right now, that's all my focus is.

Bishop didn't get the chance to hang with family last night, and has family and friends torn on who to root for.

"No, we had a team meal and meetings," he said. "This isn't going to be like one of those other trips home, it's going to be a little more business and just focus on hockey.

"I've got a lot of text messages saying they didn't know what to do. But like I said, it's just another game. Treat them all the same, whether it's preseason game, Stanley Cup final game, round two. Just treat them the same. Go out there and do your thing."

Bishop spends a lot of his summer here in St. Louis and works with a number of Blues skaters during informal skates at the St. Louis Mills Ice Zone, so he's gotten to know them well, as they've gotten to know him.

"I've skated with these guys quite a bit in the summer," Bishop said. "Whoever's in town. Different guys. I've skated with them the past 11 years.

"It does (help knowing Blues shooters). At the same time, they know me too."

Bishop, a Vezina Trophy finalist, comes into the series tied for second in the postseason in goals-against average (1.90) and is second in save percentage (.945). Coupled with his 1.98 GAA and league-leading .934 save percentage in the regular season, Bishop will be a tough beat in the series.

Bishop was only second to Blues goalie Jordan Binnington (1.89) in GAA during the regular season.

"This year, I've definitely felt good. I don't know why," Bishop said. "I definitely have felt really good this year. The team has done a tremendous job in front of Dobie and I and they make our jobs a little bit easier. One more year with this team, getting a little more familiarity and I can't pinpoint one thing but I feel pretty good about where my games at this whole entire year.

"[Binnington's] having an unbelievable year. You look what he's done to this organization and team and even the city, he's kind of put them on his back. He's doing a great job and he hasn't really had many slip ups since he got here, so he's doing a tremendous job and it's going to be important for us to try to find ways to get goals on him."

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

David Perron-Ryan O'Reilly-Vladimir Tarasenko

Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Oskar Sundqvist

Pat Maroon-Tyler Bozak-Robert Thomas

Robby Fabbri-Ivan Barbashev-Alexander Steen

Carl Gunnarsson-Alex Pietrangelo

Jay Bouwmeester-Colton Parayko

Joel Edmundson-Vince Dunn

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Jake Allen will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Robert Bortuzzo, Michael Del Zotto, Sammy Blais, Zach Sanford, Mackenzie MacEachern, Chris Thorburn and Jared Coreau. The Blues report no injuries.

- - -

The Stars' projected lineup:

Jamie Benn-Tyler Seguin-Alexander Radulov

Jason Dickinson-Roope Hintz-Mats Zuccarello

Andrew Cogliano-Radek Faksa-Blake Comeau

Mattias Janmark-Justin Dowling-Jason Spezza

Esa Lindell-John Klingberg

Miro Heiskanen-Roman Polak

Taylor Fedun-Ben Lovejoy

Ben Bishop will start in goal; Anton Khudobin will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Valeri Nichushkin, Gavin Bayreuther, Joel Hanley, Brett Ritchie and Landon Bow. Jamie Oleksiak (lower body), Marc Methot (lower body), Martin Hanzal (back) and Stephen Johns (upper body) are all out.

Blues have taken on identity of their coach

Berube's honest approach, tough love position, 

being strong communicator appreciated by players

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- A proud veteran player, David Perron wasn't pleased with his benching in December.

But in looking back on the time where the Blues winger was scratched for a Dec. 9 home game against the Vancouver Canucks, Perron understands where his coach of 20 days at the time was coming from and the coach who is leading the Blues into the second round of the Western Conference playoffs beginning Thursday against the Dallas Stars is now.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues interim coach Craig Berube (top) watches the action during the first

round against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1.

"I don't think I had a conversation with a coach like that before," Perron said of interim coach Craig Berube who took over for the fired Mike Yeo on Nov. 19. "It was very interesting, but it was good. He was open to it obviously. He took it well, I took it well, we moved on. I think he understands where I was at and all that."

It was simple, pointed and direct, and it ended there. Message delivered, message accepted.

This is who Berube is, and this the communicator he was when he stepped into the position and this is who he will continue to be, a straight shooter who will pull no punches, tell you when you need to get into high gear but also be the first to pat you on the back and say, 'Great job.'

"All assistant coaches are a little different when they go to be a head coach, but he's very approachable," said Blues center Brayden Schenn, who played under Berube in Philadelphia. "He's not afraid to tell you "Good job," "Get it going." "How's your day going?" He's around the locker room, he's easy to talk to. Guys obviously love playing for him and he's obviously turned the season around."

Berube isn't afraid to crack the whip, no matter if it's a veteran skater or a younger guy. Sometimes, that tough love may not be what you want to hear but in the end, it's what's best for all.

"It's been a good fit for everyone," said Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz, who has scored the past four Blues playoff goals, including a hat trick in Game 6 against Winnipeg. "I don't know if I can necessarily pinpoint one thing, but we've had a lot of fun coming to the rink. Obviously it's a little more exciting when you're winning games. It's funner to come, but I think we're doing a good job of taking it one day at a time. I think we don't get too high or low, which is important, especially this time of year.

"He keeps you honest and that's definitely what you want. You want a guy that knows when you can give more and knows when you're at your best. He definitely holds guys accountable."

Looking at Berube's playing career and the numbers tell you all you need to know. He played in 1,054 regular-season games for the Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders and another 89 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 159 points (61 goals, 98 assists) won't jump out, but the 3,149 regular-season penalty minutes will, along with the 211 in the postseason.

So when Berube tells it like it is, it comes from the experience of those that told him the bold truth during his playing days, with a touch of tough love. Being a great communicator is essential to his success.

"Yeah I have for the most part," Berube said. "Obviously there are times where I could probably do a better job, like reaching out to everyone. That's not always the case. I think players, I know when I played, you just like to be told the truth. You just liked things direct, I did anyhow, and that's the way I do it. I'm not saying it's the right way or the wrong way, (but) that's the way I do it.

"... It's like anything, you've got to be told if you're doing things and you've got to be told if you're not doing things right, and how they should be done."

Perron got his kick in the pants, and in the next game against Florida two nights later, he scored twice and put up 46 points (23 goals, 23 assists) in 57 games, his highest goal total since a career-high 28 with Edmonton in 2013-14.

"I think we had the identity in us, but he really found a way to let us show it more," Perron said of Berube. "I think the biggest thing is we've had conversations throughout the year. He's found a role for everyone that makes you feel important to the team. When you feel important and when you feel your role is very big, very valuable to the team, I think you're going to play better than somewhat people might think. It's very similar to what we experienced last year with Vegas. Not many guys on the team had roles that they had and they played up to it because they showed they can, and same thing here.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Jaden Schwartz (17), celebrating a goal with teammates against Winnipeg on

Saturday, said interim coach Craig Berube (top left) "keeps you honest."

"That's what you want. That's the way the world should be now. You communicate. I think everyone needs to feel like they have a say in something or having a big role on the team and everyone feeling important in here, it's what you need to have success."

Berube has done as much as possible to have the 'interim' tag removed from his name moving forward, but that's the least of his worries right now. Moving on in the playoffs would continue to solidify his name as the permanent coach.

"We're all trying to keep the same routine, same way that we've done and I think that's the only way to keep having the success," Perron said. "Yes, it's more emotion, it's a little bit more of everything, but we have to do as good a job as we can to kind of make it a normal game. That way we can keep going out there with composure, making plays, things like that. Otherwise you just go out there, and you don't do anything. ... He's open to conversation, he's open to tough conversation."

Five players helped bring 'Gloria' to St. Louis as Blues' victory song

Steen's idea of using 1982 hit single as victory tune

gravitated with teammates, now a hit for players, fans

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- When Alexander Steen, Joel Edmundson, Jaden Schwartz, Robert Bortuzzo and Robby Fabbri walked into The Jacks NYB Clubhouse in Philadelphia, little did they know they'd walk out with the Blues' new victory song.

And by Edmundson's admission, he had never heard of Laura Branigan's 1982 hit 'Gloria'.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

The Blues celebrate their series-clinching Game 6 win over the Winnipeg

Jets on Saturday, and hear their victory song, Gloria, playing overhead.

"No, not a chance," Edmundson said. "I've heard it a lot now and I want to keep hearing it."

Of course, because it means the Blues are winning.

The establishment, which hosted the five Blues players there for a night of watching the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears in an NFC Wildcard game, uses Gloria as its fight song, and it was playing multiple times throughout the night as Steen, Schwartz, Edmundson, Bortuzzo and Fabbri were gathered with friends. One thing led to another, and it would become a regular tune inside the Blues' locker room.

"We were at our buddies' private bar thing with his buddies all watching the game and they had their own DJ that whenever there was commercial, they'd play the song," Fabbri said. "After a few times and there was a commercial, everyone would yell 'Play Gloria!' We kind of took to that too. The timing was just right for it all.

"... I've heard the song before. It's a good song, it's a catchy song, especially when you hear it in an atmosphere where everyone's loving it. You've got a playoff football game on, it's a lot of fun, so it kind of caught on with us. We got that same vibe in here."

The Blues went out the following night and shut out the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0, Jordan Binnington's first NHL start, and they started playing the song upon entering the locker room following victories. It started on the Dads' trip to Florida and Tampa Bay and the rest is history.

Superstitions are something players tend to hold onto in high regard, and with the Blues going on a run of 30-10-5 at the turn of the new year, Gloria gained steam, and Steen gets the nod for having made the initial revelation for he and his teammates.

"I think 'Steener' brought it up and we were all like, 'Yeah, we're in for it,'" Edmundson said. "I would say Steener should take credit for that one.

"They had it cranked and everyone was singing along and I was like, 'This is pretty cool.' They kept playing it and playing it and we were like, 'This is our song.'"

Gloria replaced Dion's 1961 hit Runaround Sue and has turned into a phenomenon in the city.

"I think it was more of just a coincidental thing," Fabbri said. "The story watching the playoff game and it just so happened to be Binner's first game the next day and we got a shutout. Everything just kind of fell together after that, it's fun for us. We're still having fun with it."

The players were OK with it sticking in the locker room and not being turned into a big deal, but now that the fans have rallied around the players and their superstitions, Laura Branigan was as loud as she could be following the Blues' Game 6 win in the first round against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday playing loud and clear over the Enterprise Center speakers. 

The players can't believe it's turned into this, but they're more than happy to hear more of it moving forward, beginning with the second round starting Thursday against the Dallas Stars.

"No, actually not really, but it's awesome though, especially being one of the guys that was there and experienced it firsthand," Edmundson said. "We still talk to the guys that were at that bar. They're so pumped. They're new Blues fans, and they love watching the Blues now, so they turned it into a Blues bar, I think. I think the whole city of St. Louis knows the song now. It's a song that no one really knows. It's pretty cool and it's something that brings everyone together."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Jaden Schwartz, congratulating Jordan Binnington (50) after a Game 6 win

over Winnipeg Saturday, was one of five players to help incorporate Laura

Branigan's 1982 hit 'Gloria' as the Blues' victory song.

Now all one hears is 'Play Gloria!,' and the Blues have no problem doing so. It means another 'W'.

"The Blues did a good job of getting it out there," Edmundson said. "We just kept on winning, so it kept on getting played a lot. I've been out in public and I've heard it on. It just brings a smile to my face."

Blues haven't looked back since starting climb from bottom

Fourth months after seeing nobody below them, Blues now focused on second 

round after tough conversations, long journey, eliminating Jets in first round

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- When the weather was hot, the Blues felt they assembled a roster that could not only compete for the Stanley Cup Playoffs but make a deep run.

That was the feeling last summer in July when general manager Doug Armstrong retooled a roster that failed to make the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. 

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Captain Alex Pietrangelo (27), here checking Winnipeg's Mathieu Perreault

while trying to win a puck Saturday, said the Blues got to where they are by

beginning the process with "tough conversations."

The Blues were a cap team and made significant improvements through signings and a massive trade for Ryan O'Reilly, but a disastrous start, one in which had the Blues change coaches (Mike Yeo was fired on Nov. 19 and replaced by associate coach Craig Berube), then had them sitting last in the league in points (34) with nowhere to go but up. 

Not only did the Blues go up, but they ascended there so quickly, so rapidly, it earned them a berth in the postseason, the seventh team in league history to do so after being last in the NHL at any point on Jan. 1.

And in the process of going up, there was a diamond-in-the-rough named Jordan Binnington that stepped into the spotlight in goal on Jan. 7. He hasn't looked back since.

And as things sit on April 21, the Blues not only are still working but they'll begin on Monday preparing for an opponent in the Western Conference second round after eliminating the Winnipeg Jets in six games following a 3-2 Game 6 win on Saturday.

To think that the Blues are in the position they're in all things considered, when they turned the page on a disastrous ending to 2018 and moved into 2019. Now they're the first team in league history since the NHL's expansion era (1967-68) to win a playoff series after ranking last overall at any point after New Year’s Day (minimum of 20 games played).

Who saw this coming? Well, they did.

"Well, I guess within this locker room, we had a lot of tough conversations and honest conversations about what we needed to do to get better," Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo said. "We still had belief in this room, as hard as it was for some people to believe. We felt like we still had a chance and we just kept pushing. That’s what we did in this series. We didn’t play the way we wanted to in Games 3-4 here, but we just kept pushing, looked hard in the mirror.

"... I’m proud of the guys in this room, and I really do mean that. There’s a lot of tough times you go throughout a year, a lot of ups and a lot of downs, and all the way through this group, I really am proud."

That's what a veteran presence, guys that have been there and done that, guys that need to have the intestinal fortitude to keep a locker room from breaking down.

Guys stepped up and let their voices be heard, even ones that normally remain quiet. It wasn't just Pietrangelo, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko or other guys that have worn a letter.

"Oh yeah. ... When I say we had conversations behind closed doors, it’s not just me and Vladi and Steener and guys who have been here," Pietrangelo said. "Everyone’s got a voice in this locker room and at this time of the year, everybody’s got an impact on the game, so this is a collective effort. Tonight was a good example of that."

The Blues started finding their way, sifting through the rubble of a 15-18-4 start. They would pull out of the gutter a franchise 11-game winning streak that fueled a 30-10-5 finish, and the rest is history.

And now, they're in the second round for the first time since 2017 and third time in the past four seasons.

"They're a relentless bunch. They don't quit. They just keep going," Berube said. "They're a tight group in there. They really play for each other. We talk about working and playing for each other on the ice all the time, and that's what they do.

"We all have a goal in mind. We got through one part of it, basically. We wanted to get in the playoffs which we did. We ended up beating a real good hockey team over there, Winnipeg Jets, and now we're moving on to the next opponent. And that's where we're at right now."

The Blues got healthy, slowly but surely, they -- knock on wood -- are relatively-speaking healthy, or healthy enough to play, and they keep riding that wave of momentum and emotion.

"I think once we got everybody healthy," Pietrangelo said of when he felt things started to click. "I know you don’t want to use injuries as an excuse, but once we got everybody healthy … and again we had some good meetings behind closed doors that are going to stay behind closed doors. Sometimes it’s not easy to look in the mirror when things are going tough, and going good, but we did that and I’ll tell you what, like I said, I’m proud of this group that we grabbed this thing and we’re moving on."

And then there's Binnington, who took the league by storm. First, winning 24 of his first 30 starts (24-5-1) and finishing with a league-best 1.89 goals-against average and fourth in the league in save percentage at .927. He took every punch, body blow and opposing chant from the Manitoba 'Whiteout' faithful, only to resist every challenge and found a way to persevere.

"I wanted a sweep to be honest, but I learned it's a tough game in the playoffs and teams are good and every game you have to prepare the same way and stay composed," Binnington said. "There's a lot of adversity there. It was fun and exciting for me. This team has been great all year that I've been here. We're excited. It's a great feeling for us and it's great to close at home.

"... Those are some good numbers for the second half. We've been great and things are always more fun when you're winning. We've been enjoying it and we're a resilient group."

That they are, and bow the Blues have their eyes set on the Dallas Stars or Nashville Predators for round two, which Oakville High product Pat Maroon said won't be a problem.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Jordan Binnington for all intents and purposes, took over the Blues goal on

Jan. 7 and has not relinquished it since.

He was asked what this meant to him in terms of being from St. Louis, the challenging season he had and how far he's come. The succinct reply pretty much typifies everyone in the locker room: unfinished business.

"It's round one. Now we go to round two. It's not over," Blues forward and St. Louisan Pat Maroon said. "The crowd was unbelievable [Saturday]. They were into it. It's great to see, being from St. Louis. Coming to playoff games as as a kid and seeing the crowd, it was exciting. They were into it and we got off to a good start. They were crazy the whole game. It's round one, emotional game. Glad the boys hung in there, got the 'W' tonight. We've got to focus for round two."

Schwartz hat trick fuels Blues' 3-2 series-clinching win over Jets

Forward has scored last four St. Louis goals; Blues move 

on into second round against winner of Dallas or Nashville

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The diminutive one, the one that has a mantra labeled for working his tail off and is a popular figure in the locker room provided the offensive flair in a series-clinching game and thrust the Blues into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Jaden Schwartz, all 5-foot-10 of him (and  that listed height is stretching it quite a bit), stood tall Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets. He provided all the offense the Blues needed with his first playoff hat trick, and the Blues fended off the desperate Jets before eliminating them in Game 6, 3-2, to win the first round series before 18,524 at Enterprise Center on Saturday.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Alex Pietrangelo rushes in to celebrate with Carl Gunnarsson (middle) and 

Jaden Schwartz (right) after Schwartz scored in Game 6 on Saturday.

Schwartz, who provided the deciding goal in Game 5 with 15 seconds remaining in regulation on Thursday, finished the series with five points (four goals, one assist), including the final four goals scored by the Blues, who won the best-of-7 series 4-2.

"It's nice definitely to help out and step up," Schwartz said. "We played a great team game today. We didn't give them much, we worked our butts off. Our 'D' were great. I thought our forwards backchecked really  hard and frustrated them. That was the biggest game of the year for us. We played aggressive and we were on our toes."

The final result was in no way a mirror of how dominating the Blues played. They outshot the Jets 36-20, but at one point had a 27-6 edge on the shot clock, including a whopping 16-1 in the second period.

"Yeah, I think what was it … six shots after two periods," Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "That’s exactly what we wanted to do. We wanted to be hard on their top line, come out strong. Got a lot of energy after that first shift. That’s a heck of an effort all around."

The Blues were smothering, they were relentless, they were puck-hunters, and they didn't waste any time in grabbing the lead and firmly grabbing it.

"We talked about bringing that momentum from the third period of Game 5," Blues interim coach Craig Berube said. "And I think that the guys did. We mentioned it yesterday. Talked today about it. They had good energy and played hard. It's a hard game out there."

Jordan Binnington made 18 saves for St. Louis, which won the first home game in the series.

"It makes it more special," Binnington said. "It's one series and it was good to win it in front of our home crowd here after losing the last two (games). We're excited and we'll take a little rest here and prepare for the next series."

Game 6 was an extension to Game 5. The Blues won Game 5 3-2 by scoring three times in the third period to overcome a 2-0 deficit, including Schwartz's tiebreaking goal with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. It seemed to have a carryover effect.

"We knew how we wanted to play and we wanted to execute that game plan and we did a good job of carrying it over," Schwartz said.

Dustin Byfuglien had a goal and an assist, and Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves for the Jets, who reached the Western Conference Final last season.

"It was tough. Tough to swallow," said Jets forward Bryan Little, who scored late in the third period. "I think we had really high expectations for ourselves coming into the season. It just feels disappointing right now."

The emotions were evident with Jets captain Blake Wheeler.

"F--k off. ... Please, come on, man. This is a tough trophy to win," Wheeler said. "Maybe our best just wasn't good enough today. And their best was pretty darn good. In situations like that, you look for the resolve in your group. You look for how guys fight. And we played until the last whistle. That's the way I see it."

Schwartz gave the Blues a 1-0 lead 23 seconds into the first period when he poked in a loose puck behind Hellebuyck. The Jets challenged for goaltender interference, but the call in the ice stood.

"You want to have that positive mindset for sure," Schwartz said. "The first two games at home didn't go as planned. We want to be aggressive. You don't want to sit back against these guys. We know it's a long game though. We know they scored on their first shift in their building. You kind of learn as you go that you've got to put in a full 60 for sure."


Schwartz's first goal was the third-fastest in Blues playoff history behind Sergio Momesso (:18, Game 3 1990 Division Final) and Brett Hull (:20, Game 3 1995 Conference Quarterfinal). Schwartz also Phil Roberto (Games 2-4, 1972 Quarterfinal) and Red Berenson (Games 1-2, 1969 Quarterfinal) as the third player in Blues history to account for four consecutive team goals in the postseason. 

With the Blues playing relentless, Schwartz made it 2-0 at 12:36 of the second with a power-play goal on a wrist shot from the left face-off circle.

He completed the hat trick by making it 3-0 at 3:55 of the third period. It was St. Louis' first playoff hat trick since Vladimir Tarasenko had one against the Minnesota Wild in the first round in the 2015. Schwartz scored the last four St. Louis goals in the series.

The hats reigned down onto the ice from the Enterprise Center faithful in jubilation.

"I'm not sure. I wasn't really even looking at the hats," Schwartz said of seeing them. "I was just trying to catch my breath. We were trying to get the faceoff and they were throwing them on late, so that was slowing the game down a bit."

The Jets didn't go away quietly, and Byfuglien made it 3-1 at 12:17 of the third by driving hard to the net to follow in a Kevin Hayes shot.

Little scored a shorthanded goal with 38 seconds left for the 3-2 final after the Jets pulled Hellebuyck with Blake Wheeler serving a high-sticking penalty.

"I thought we did play a full 60, but the last two minutes, it was very scary, especially with 36 seconds left on the clock," Blues forward Pat Maroon said. "They're a team that's very resilient. They never give up. They have a lot of high-powered offense, especially on the backend. They can skate it in. We made it close and interesting, but 'O'Ry' [Ryan O'Reilly] had a heck of a faceoff and Steen came out and blocked a shot and got it out. That's a big win for us."

The Blues won Game 6 for the first time since April 21, 2001. They had lost their past eight.

Binnington, who took every shot thrown his way, from Jets fans chanting 'You look nervous!' to being targeted for tweets in his past, could hear the crowd Saturday chanting 'You look nervous!' at the Jets.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Jordan Binnington makes one of his 18 saves in Game 6 against Winnipeg

on Saturday at Enterprise Center.

"The city's got my back I guess," Binnington said. "That was pretty cool to see. The city's a great hockey town and sports town. It was a lot of fun and that was pretty cool."

The Blues now await the winner of the series between the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars. The Stars lead that best-of-7 series 3-2, with Game 6 slated for Monday.

"It is what it is. Make the best of it. Do what you have to do," Berube said. "Guys can heal up a little bit. You've got to stay focused. You've got to practice and do the right things. But it is what it is. So to say it's a good thing or bad thing, it is what it is. So just deal with it and be prepared. That's all."

(4-20-19) Jets-Blues Game 6 Gameday Lineup

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The Blues are in closeout mode on Saturday, and closing out the Winnipeg Jets is highly on their radar.

The Blues and Jets will play Game 6 of the Western Conference first round (6 p.m.; FS-MW, KMOX 1120-AM), and with the Blues holding a 3-2 series lead and the chance to eliminate the Jets tonight, now would be the perfect time for the home team to finally win a game.

Road teams are a perfect 5-0 in this series, the first time since the 2004 Western Conference Final between San Jose and Calgary that it's been done and only the fourth time in NHL history in the seven-game series format it's been done.

And it has left the looming question of why two teams that were really good on home ice haven't been able to get it done.

"Jeez, I don't know. It's crazy," Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson said. "It's nuts, but hopefully we can turn that around tonight. We'll make sure to do it. It's been crazy that way. We've been a good road team all year. We've just got to start winning at home too.

"... I don't know what it is. We've got the crowd behind us, they've got the crowd behind them. In Winnipeg, you've got everything set up for you. It might be one play that determines the game. To have 'Schenner' score that goal, that was a big one, and 'Schwartzy' at the end."

The Blues, who have lost eight straight Game 6's dating to April 21, 2001 when they won 2-1 at San Jose, will try to be the exception to the norm in this series. However, five of those games were elimination games for the Blues, but when they were up 3-2 in the series, they've won two of three Game 7's.

"We've just been taking it one game at a time, tonight's a new game and a new opportunity," said Blues center Tyler Bozak, who set up Jaden Schwartz's game-winner with 15 seconds left in regulation. "They're a great hockey team and they don't want their season to end. They're going to have their best and we're going to have to match that."

Blues interim coach Craig Berube expects the Blues to have the zip they had in Game 4 here, and that's why he doesn't overplay that this is anything different than another playoff game.

"No, I don't think so. Obviously the Jets are in a must-win situation," Berube said. "You've got to match their desperation, and we've got to be ready for that. But on the other side of it, we're at home here and we need to come out energized, and we will, and play our game."

- - -

When Berube changed his lineup around for the third period in Game 5 which resulted in three unanswered goals and a 3-2 Blues win, it showed the aggressive nature of the Blues' game.

Instead of just being content with overtime Friday, they went for it, and continued to push the initiative and eventually, won the game.

"Yeah, sometimes it gives them a spark," Berube said. "I think it gave us a little more energy and a spark there. Putting [Brayden] Brayden in the middle, he hasn't been there in a while. He was excited about it. I thought that line was really good. In saying that, the first period the other night, they got off obviously to a quick start and we got behind. But I liked that first period. I thought we had a pretty good first period other than the first shift."

The Blues flipped Schenn and David Perron, who moved to left wing with Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko, while Schenn moved back to his natural center position with Schwartz and moved Oskar Sundqvist to the right wing.

"It's a great coaching move," O'Reilly said. "Sometimes you have to make adjustments, give them a different look. They've seen that look, that's all they've seen, so it changes things up, provides a different spark and a different look offensively and off the rush. It takes them out of the comfort zone and us as well and it gives us a spark there.

"I think our game slowly built. It wasn't a great start, getting scored on right away, but from then on, we gradually built our game up, it started to get better and better by the third, there was no panic, we're going to be aggressive, let's go at them and that's what we did and we got some good bounces and put the puck in the net. They tightened up and it we just had the ice tilted there for a bit and it was a resilient win."

But with so much on the line for Game 6, does that aggressive initiative stay in place?

"It's tough," O'Reilly said. "The situations are completely different. In a sense, there are a lot of things we have to do similar, with that aggressiveness and establishing it right away. We still haven't had the game where we came out and dictated right off the bat. The start's obviously really important for us. We just have to take it one at a time, one shift at a time, and find a way to win more battles than they do."

That's why the start tonight will be imperative, and the Blues have to expect desperation from the Jets.

"Score quicker than 12 seconds," Gunnarsson said jokingly. "... They're going to be desperate. They're down 3-2. If you can just imagine if we were in the same situation, you're going to pour it all in. You have to. We've got to be ready for that. We've got to play the same way. We don't want to go back and play one more game in Winnipeg. Instead, play this one like it's the last one."

- - -

Speaking of O'Reilly, the offseason nominations are slowly filtering through and after already being the Blues' nominee for the King Clancy Trophy Tuesday and being named a finalist for the Selke Trophy on Wednesday, O'Reilly was named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy on Thursday.

"It's exciting to be nominated again," said O'Reilly, who won the Lady Byng in 2014. "I take a lot of pride in that. I want to be as effective as I possibly can, especially defensively without taking penalties. It's nice to be up for that again. It was funny, when I first got here, I had that mindset of being too tough to play against and taking too many penalties. I calmed down a bit."

- - -

Gunnarsson's insertion in the lineup seemed to be a smooth transition for the Blues in Game 5.

He replaced Robert Bortuzzo, who Berube said is available to play, and played 18 minutes 23 seconds. He started with Joel Edmundson but quickly moved up with Alex Pietrangelo and dropped Vince Dunn down with Edmundson.

"You try to ramp yourself up," Gunnarsson said. "It's not tough to get yourself going for these kind of games. You just want to make sure to be ready, not be too nervous.

"I thought I felt great. Obviously the boys are already buzzing and just helping me out there. I felt good, yeah."

Look for Gunnarsson to remain in the lineup.

"I thought he was really good," Berube said. "Showed a lot of composure. Made some real good small-area plays. He's a smart player. Defended well. He hasn't played a ton, but Gunny's a good player."

- - -

The parity of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is none more evident than what these 2019 postseason series are bringing.

For the first time in league history, the top two seeds (Tampa Bay and Calgary) have both been eliminated in the first round, and the Lightning, who were swept by Columbus, and Flames, who bowed out Friday against Colorado in five games, combined for one win.

"I think that's the coolest part about the NHL, every team that's in the playoffs can beat every team and I think that makes for a really entertaining and competitive playoff," Bozak said. "I'm sure the fans love it. As a player, you know if you get in the playoffs, you have a chance. That's the coolest part about our game, there's no guarantees in the first round, everybody has an opportunity to win and it's showing that this year."

"I think it shows the parity of the league, how good it is," O'Reilly said. "I'm shocked the two top teams in the league, they win one game in two series, that's crazy. I have to give credit to those teams. Watching a few of those games, they played outstanding. It's just sometimes the matchup, the way you come in to the playoffs can affect a lot."

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

David Perron-Ryan O'Reilly-Vladimir Tarasenko

Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Oskar Sundqvist

Pat Maroon-Tyler Bozak-Robert Thomas

Robby Fabbri-Ivan Barbashev-Alexander Steen

Carl Gunnarsson-Alex Pietrangelo

Jay Bouwmeester-Colton Parayko

Joel Edmundson-Vince Dunn

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Jake Allen will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Robert Bortuzzo, Michael Del Zotto, Sammy Blais, Zach Sanford, Mackenzie MacEachern, Chris Thorburn and Jared Coreau. The Blues report no injuries, although there is some question whether Bortuzzo is dealing with an injury or not.

- - -

The Jets' projected lineup:

Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Blake Wheeler

Nikolaj Ehlers-Bryan Little-Patrik Laine

Andrew Copp-Adam Lowry-Brandon Tanev

Mathieu Perreault-Kevin Hayes-Jack Roslovic

Josh Morrissey-Jacob Trouba

Ben Chiarot-Dustin Byfuglien

Dmitry Kulikov-Tyler Myers

Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal; Laurent Brossoit will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Matt Hendricks, Nathan Beaulieu, Par Lindholm, Joe Morrow, Bogdan Kiselevich, Sami Niku and Eric Comrie. The Jets report no injuries, although Ehlers did not skate and is a game-time decision after blocking a Parayko shot in the third period and did not return. If he cannot play, the expectation is Lindholm will jump into his spot.

Blues hope to eliminate Jets instead of being in survival mode thanks to personnel changes

Berube's line changes help set stage for third-period 3-2 comeback 

win in Winnipeg, give St. Louis 3-2 lead instead of facing 3-2 deficit

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Craig Berube stuck to his guns, and it was hard to let go for good reason.

Consistency has been a theme for the Blues' interim coach, and with the way the team played through much of the second half of the season and into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Berube wasn't about to tinker with what wasn't broken.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues coach Craig Berube decided to change his lineup around, and it

helped them to a rally in the third period of a 3-2 win in Game 5 at Winnipeg.

But as this Western Conference first round series with the Winnipeg Jets progressed, and with the way the Blues' top line was producing (or not producing would be a better way of putting it), Berube had to try something different.

"'Otter' came up to me, but you really had that feeling," Blues forward Brayden Schenn said of assistant coach Steve Ott regarding a change.

And "that feeling" is what has the Blues sitting in the position they're in right now, with a 3-2 series lead after that frantic third-period comeback, down 2-0 before rallying for a stunning 3-2 win in Game 5 Thursday at Bell MTS Place.

Not to overlook the goaltending of Jordan Binnington, who made saves on the final 20 shots faced after falling behind 2-0, and the penalty kill that had to turn away a Winnipeg four-minute power play, but the calculated changes proved to be vital.

The Blues, who can close the Jets out instead of having to fight for survival on Saturday in Game 6 (6 p.m.; FS-MW, KMOX 1120-AM), were left for dead down two with 20 minutes to go. But Berube decided to finally move some pieces around, and it started before the game when he inserted Carl Gunnarsson into the lineup on the blue line in place of Robert Bortuzzo, and then in-game, pulled the plug on the Schenn-Ryan O'Reilly-Vladimir Tarasenko line. 

Berube flipped Schenn and David Perron, moving Perron to the left wing on O'Reilly's line and moving Schenn back into the middle and shift Oskar Sundqvist to the right and reunite Schenn with Jaden Schwartz, who potted the gamer-winner with 15 seconds remaining in regulation to complete the comeback.

"You’re always thinking about changes and stuff," Berube said. "I guess you look at our top line not producing 5-on-5 enough. Even though I thought the first period was pretty good -- they had some zone time, had some opportunities, but if you don’t score, you’ve got to change it up a little. So it was a good time to make the change."

Boy was it ever, and knowing that Schenn and Schwartz have had success together before made it an easier choice to make.

"A lot of the forwards have played with each other," Schwartz said. "'Schenner' can play the wing, but he’s actually a center, so he likes getting speed through the neutral zone. 

"We just needed to make a switch. We were getting chances but they weren’t going in. The switch paid off and like I said, the PK was huge, the PP was big and then, we just kept going from there."

The underlying key point here is that perhaps Berube was seeing the affect of playing the wing had on Schenn and the way he was wearing down in games sparked the change. Playing the wing, Schenn is the first forward in and using his body more on the forecheck instead of skating with the puck through the neutral zone and using his speed. Schenn seemed to be fresher later in the game and was more apt to creating plays instead of sacrificing his body.

"It's a game of inches and chances and I don't think I've had as many chances as I would have liked earlier in this series," said Schenn, who had his first two points in the series Thursday with a goal and an assist. "I got back to the middle and I felt it got me back around the puck more, got a little more speed to my game and I was able to make a few more plays.

"If it's not going for us at the time, you've got to make the switch, and we did, and all lines got going really. Perron did a great job with Vladi and 'O'Ry' and they had a ton of chances. Me and 'Schwartzy' and 'Sunny' and 'Steener' ... all lines were cycling, grinding. ... We feel comfortable with each other (Schenn and Schwartz). We're looking for one another out there. I think the team's extremely happy for him. He's worked hard all year, he's had chances all series. For him to get that goal is huge for us."

The Schenn-O'Reilly-Tarasenko line, when they were connected together for the start of that franchise-record 11-game winning streak on Jan. 23 and beyond, were fantastic. The Blues had not lost in 17 straight games when that trio was together, and they compiled 63 points (an average of 3.71 per game) in the process. But Winnipeg was ability to keep the puck off their sticks, and the Jets' top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler was having the better of that matchup, so Berube dug into the well and pulled out a familiar component.

And by the end of the night, the Jets' top line each was a minus-2.

"I thought when we put them together tonight, they looked more energetic and had more jump," Berube said. "I put Schenn back in the middle and he seemed to have more jump. He was pretty excited about it. And I thought 'Schwartzy' fed off him."

As did Sundqvist, who was getting beat up in the series from a physical standpoint but made  solid power move off the wing to help set up Schenn's tying goal that needed to be reviewed when the net was lifted off its moorings.

"I keep playing my game," Sundqvist said. "'Schenner' is really skilled, really physical, winning puck battles down low and creating offense for us. It was nice to play with him.

"It’s nothing, it’s just up and down the ice (on right wing). I’m trying to create space for 'Schenner' and 'Schwartzy'. It was nice playing them."

It's not as if moving Perron from the right to left wing was an anomaly either. It's his off side and he's played there with Tarasenko, giving O'Reilly two guys to distribute to on their off side.

"We’ve played with Schenn before and Perron played with those guys before, so everyone is used to playing with each other and we’ve played with each other before, so it wasn’t like it was that big of a switch for us," Schwartz said.

The jigsaw puzzle was in full swing, but when the pieces fit, as they did Thursday, Berube comes out smelling like a rose.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Jaden Schwartz (17) celebrates with teammate Carl Gunnarsson after 

scoring the game-winner Thursday with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.

"It feels good," Berube said. "Honestly, I thought our team responded well to it. ... That's a good team over there. Its a competitive game all around. We got some fortunate bounces."

And a fortunate equipment issue when the left-handed Schenn had to leave the ice late for the right-handed Tyler Bozak, who was able to whip an airborne puck into the slot that Schwartz was able to bunt in past a stunned Connor Hellebuyck.

"'Bozie' came on, he was fresh, and probably knew there wasn't much time left so he just threw it on net and I kind of got lucky, it just hit my stick," Schwartz said.