from Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

Before we rank the San Jose Hand of Death up there with the iron claw on the list of most lethal knockout punches, perhaps we should consider the strength of our hometown hockey team’s jaw.

By now, the Blues’ backs are so comfortable in a corner, their shoulder blades rest naturally at an angle of 90 degrees.

They are not at ease unless considerable pressure is applied.

The harder, the better.

A preponderance of evidence says so.

It is this confounding character trait that has grayed hair and frayed hearts during the Blues’ long, strange trip to these Western Conference finals.

We panic.

The Blues just push forward.

Nothing has changed now.

We were too busy lobbing Molotov cocktails on Twitter on Wednesday night to realize the Blues were handling the madness better than anyone else.

continued