ST. LOUIS -- If these Blues were, say, insects the answer would be easy. Spectracide, Roundup, some kind of weed killer to knock off these pests. But this is flesh, blood and the Stanley Cup Final, where the Blues refuse to go quietly.
They knocked off the favored Boston Bruins 4-2 in Game 4 and leveled the series. More than that, they bounced back from not only their worst game of the playoffs but maybe their worst game of the season. A 7-2 loss here Saturday in Game 3 was a reminder of
what a big tease this franchise has been since it began play in 1967. Just when their long-suffering fans dared to hope, the Blues stunk out loud at home -- falling behind 4-0 and giving up four power-play goals on four shots.
"We all have each other's backs," center Brayden Schenn said. "A tough loss like that, I think a lot of guys would start throwing each other under the bus."
On Monday, it was like that game never happened. Ryan O'Reilly scored 43 seconds into the game and popped the game-winner midway through the third period. If the Bruins didn't know they were in a series before, they certainly do now. A franchise that last played a home Stanley Cup Final game May 5, 1970 -- against these same Bruins -- find themselves two games away from sipping from hockey's sacred chalice.
"We forgot about that game (three) pretty quickly," center Oskar Sundqvist said.
Now, about that resilience. Since Jan. 1, the Blues have had two regular-season losing streaks of more than one game. (Streaks of two and three losses to be exact). In the first two rounds, they bounced back from losing back-to-back games to Winnipeg and then Dallas to advance.
Monday was kill or be killed -- using the pest analogy again. The Bruins are known as a bit of a bother themselves but the Blues struck three times, all on forceful rushes to the net. There was O'Reilly's first goal. Vladimir Tarasenko put St. Louis ahead 2-1 in the second period tucking in Alex Pietrangelo's rebound. O'Reilly brought the house down in the third, breaking a tie by going hard to the net again, banging in another Pietrangelo rebound.
Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy will regret that winning goal for at least a day or two before Game 5 Thursday in Boston. O'Reilly beat him in a bum rush to the net, a signature move for a team that has more force than finesse.
"It seemed as the game went on, we were wearing them down shift after shift," O'Reilly said.
O'Reilly was St. Louis' leading scorer during the regular season but has been criticized for his lack of production in the playoffs. No more.
"The way he responds, the way he practices all the way, the way he is in the locker room is in unbelievable," Tarasenko said.
As you've probably read by now, the Blues were dead last in the NHL. Four games into the league's championship, they are a pack of annoying gnats buzzing around the Bruins helmets. Is the series turning? A second successive loss for the Blues would have put them down 3-1. In the history of the Cup Final, teams facing that deficit are 1-33. (The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs were down 3-0 before pulling off a miracle.)
But for the first time in the series, Boston did not lead at any point during the game. For the first time in the series, they did not score a power-play goal. Boston veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara left three minutes into the second period and never returned
after a puck he blocked smacked him right in the mouth. Blues defenseman Vince Dunn has hit in a similar fashion earlier in the playoffs. After missing six games he played his first Stanley Cup Final game Monday at age 22. There was obvious evidence still showing of his lower lip being stitched together.
"It's amazing out there," Dunn said in wonderment. "I'm still kind of shaking from it. It's very intense. It's very emotional for me. It's something I've always dreamed of."
Hey, it was 49 years between home Stanley Cup Final games. The Blues are due, if nothing else.
"The city has been waiting a long time, right?" Pietrangelo said. "You can see the buzz around the city, driving to games. It's a great city, an underrated sports city, in my opinion. The fans are great. They never gave up on us all year. They didn't give up on us here in the playoffs. They just keep on cheering."