Blues Finally Best the Blackhawks and Their Playoff Demons in Epic Game 7 Win

It was all set to happen again, just like it always seems to happen with the St. Louis Blues. Another terrific regular season, another round of "we've learned our lessons, we've learned how to win now" bromides as the playoffs began. And then another premature, crushing end.

This one had "Classic Blues Choke" written all over it, too. St. Louis took an early lead in Game 7 of its first-round series with the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, and raucous Blues fans' hopes were raised higher than the crest of the nearby Arch. Then, another letup, another blown lead, another case of stage fright among players and fans. And finally...victory?

Yes, victory. For the St. Louis Blues.

The Blackhawks were the horror B-movie monster that wouldn't die, but the Blues, the ever-gagging Blues, wrote the obituary on Chicago's season with a 3-2 victory in a game even the toughest antacids couldn't control. Troy Brouwer's third-period, third-try backhander in the crease—right after he hit the post on a tap-in gimme and then fanned on the rebound in front of a yawning net—was the game-winner.

The Blues thus ensured the NHL will again go without a repeat champion, with Detroit's 1998 Stanley Cup victory remaining the last time it happened. They moved on to play the Dallas Stars in a best-of-seven Western Conference Semifinal, with the Stars owning home-ice advantage.

This could finally be the franchise-changing win the Blues have been seeking for years. That's could be. There's a lot more winning to do for the Blues before they lift a Stanley Cup for the first time in their nearly 50-year history. The Blues still have not been to a Cup Final since 1970—when Scotty Bowman was the coach.

But if ever there were a game that off-loaded lots of franchise baggage, this might have been it. Blues veteran Alex Pietrangelo's bear hug of team captain David Backes when it was over said it all.

"We've been through a lot together. There's a lot of us on this team that have gone through a lot the last few years," Pietrangelo told NBC's Pierre McGuire. "It's a good feeling. We deserve it. We put a lot of effort into this."

There likely would have been at least one major change to the Blues had they failed to come through in this one. Head coach Ken Hitchcock, whose regular-season brilliance has never been questioned in St. Louis, probably would not have survived had his team blown the series. It probably would have been the final game in a Blues sweater for Backes—an unrestricted free agent. Maybe another core guy or two would have been dealt.

But the Blues have actualized the identity so many predicted for them in recent years: playoff winners. For one round, at least.

Let's tap the sticks, though, for a Blackhawks club that nearly pulled off the full Houdini in this series. Chicago entered Scottrade Center having evened the series after being down 3-1. It was down 2-0 in this one, too, before tying it in the second period on Andrew Shaw's power-play goal. For a while after that, it was all Blackhawks, and everyone was ready to write another chapter of heartbreak in the Blues' book of tortured playoff history.

The Blues didn't score until 8:31 of the third, but they kept the clock moving. Chicago had one last gasp, but speaking of tortured: Blackhawks fans are advised not to click on the following GIF:

It's hockey's equivalent of the 7-10 split—a puck that ricochets off both goalposts and somehow stays out of the net. It's almost impossible to pull off, but somehow that's what happened after Richard Panik tipped Brent Seabrook's shot with just under four minutes left and the Blues clinging to a 3-2 lead.

That's the kind of buzzard's luck that always seems to get St. Louis in the end, especially against the Blackhawks, who ended the Blues' playoff run in the first round two years ago.

Not this time.

This Blues team seems different than the ones of the past few years. There's a core that has largely stayed intact. Yeah, they sure could've made things a lot easier on themselves. They almost blew this whole thing again. But they didn't. They came home from a gut punch of a Game 6 loss with everyone gesturing at them with clutched throats, and they came out flying. They dominated the first 10 minutes and got out to the kind of lead that allows for a letdown or two without being fatal.

Hitchcock got his team back on the forecheck in the third period, and it finally—finally—wore down the champions. The Blues forced the Erik Gustafsson turnover in the neutral zone that led to the winning goal, with Robby Fabbri finding Brouwer alone on the left side as Chicago's defense scrambled to make up for Gustafsson's muff.

It's just too hard to play from behind all the time, even for great champions like the Blackhawks. Hitchcock's team played well against Chicago captain Jonathan Toews, holding him without a goal in the seven games. The Blues took away his time and space with the puck and dared others to beat them. Brian Elliott was just good enough in goal, and Hitchcock's gamble paid off.

While you have to like the Blues' chances of advancing further, it'll be up to Hitchcock to not let his players suffer a letdown. He knows how dangerous it can be when a team thinks it's already vanquished the toughest foe it'll face.

In 1999 and 2000, the Colorado Avalanche breezed into the Western Conference Final against Hitchcock's Dallas Stars fresh off victories over their blood rival—the Detroit Red Wings. Everyone thought the Cup was Colorado's, but Hitchcock's teams beat the Avs in successive Game 7s at Reunion Arena.

The Blues likely have an even-tougher road ahead. There is still a blank space on the team trophy shelf—one that has been bereft of a Cup since St. Louis entered the league in 1967.

But the Blues are physically closer to one now. And maybe, more importantly, they're spiritually closer.

Adrian Dater covers the NHL for Bleacher Report.