The San Jose Sharks punched their ticket to the Western Conference Final late Thursday, and you can make a compelling case any of the four teams remaining in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs will win it all over the course of the next few weeks.
That said, if you put a gun to my head and made me choose what team I’d pick as my favorite to win this year's NHL championship, (a) I’d urge you to put down the gun and work with me to find a mental health professional you can talk to about what is pretty clearly an issue you have with deadly weapons; and (b) I’d choose the St. Louis Blues. They've stumbled through some difficult stretches in this post-season, but as they prepare to take on the Sharks and make their first Western Conference Final appearance since the 2000-01 campaign, St. Louis is showing all bend and no break while shaking off one ghost of the past after another. Everything appears to be coming together for them at precisely the right time of year.
In the first round, the Blues eliminated the defending Cup champions from Chicago – the same Blackhawks franchise that disposed of their playoff dreams in 2014 – and in the second round, St. Louis beat a Dallas Stars squad that put together the West’s best regular-season record. Yes, they were pushed to the brink of elimination in both series, but in stark contrast to previous playoff performances, the Blues found ways to get the job done.
They knocked off Chicago in Game 7 of the opening round after storming out to a 2-0 lead, absorbing the Blackhawks' counterpunch and getting a the series-winning goal from former Hawk Troy Brouwer. And Wednesday night in Dallas, they took advantage of a Stars team that received subpar goaltending, and got superb contributions on offense from a slew of veterans (including captain David Backes, who posted a goal and two points Thursday) and youngsters (centre Robby Fabbri had a goal and three points) to cruise to a 6-1 victory in Game 7 of the second round.
But it isn’t just the opponents they’ve beaten that make the Blues an appealing Cup pick at this stage of the playoffs. It’s also the variety of manners in which they’ve won games that convince you they can beat you any way you choose to play. They’ve won four one-goal games and two overtime games. They’ve won a game in which they only scored once, they’ve won two games by the score of 6-1, and they’ve allowed more than three goals in a game just twice in 14 contests. So long as one or more of their deep group of forwards comes through with some offense, they’re going to be tough to beat.
And boy, is that group of forwards ever deep. In addition to Backes – who’s quietly having the best playoff of his life, with six goals (including three game-winners) and 12 points – and the rookie Fabbri (tied for the team lead in playoff points, with 13), the Blues have been powered by superstar winger Vladimir Tarasenko (seven goals and 13 points), fourth-year veteran Jaden Schwartz (eight assists and 11 points) and relative greybeard Brouwer (a career-best five playoff goals and 10 points). And even if none of those players step up, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock has other stellar options, including Paul Stastny, Patrik Berglund and Alex Steen.
The Blues have as much depth at forward as any of the four teams still playing, and the same goes for a defense that employs Alex Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jay Bouwmeester and Colton Parayko. And while they don’t have a netminder currently regarded as the cream of the crop, the fact is Brian Elliott has a .929 save percentage and 2.29 goals-against average this spring and stopped 31 of 32 Stars shots in Game 7. Everyone is thriving in their role, and because so many of their players are showing they can be a difference-maker on any given night, the pressure has been taken off all of them as individuals to be the difference-maker every night. That’s crucial for just about every eventual Cup-winner.
As noted, all the remaining teams have done enough through two rounds to convince an observer they’re about to win it all. The Pittsburgh Penguins have the best player left in the tournament, a rookie goalie confounding the opposition and a stacked group of forwards that can’t be intimidated by anyone. The Tampa Bay Lightning have overcome the absence of two high-profile stars and relied upon their own impressive depth to put themselves in position to win the Eastern Conference for the second consecutive season. And the Sharks have been exorcising many of their own demons, thoroughly outplayed the gassed-out Predators in Game 7 Thursday, and could finally have a breakthrough post-season.
Nobody should be surprised to see any of these teams go on to hoist the best trophy in sport, and injuries can change the big picture in an instant. But if you’re asking me which final four team makes me think of the Hawks and Kings teams that have dominated the league final since 2012, my answer is the Blues. They're complete, confident and well-coached, and there's no good reason St. Louis can’t win eight more games and the first Cup in franchise history.