from Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

“As a team being able to experience that, we’ve had a core here that’s been here for a while now but we’ve never been able to push through like we did last year,” Kevin Shattenkirk said. “To finally break through like that was again another learning experience, another eye-opening lesson for us to know that it only gets harder each round you go.”

The Blues ran out of gas in the conference final. They appeared exhausted after playing grueling seven-game series against the Blackhawks and Stars.

If they had closed out each series in six games against the Blackhawks and Stars, you have to believe that a different, stronger, faster, fresher Blues team would have eliminated the Sharks in the conference final.

That argument, however, is impossible to prove. Heck, it might even be silly to bring it up. But you definitely have to wonder, don’t you?

Whatever the case, the majority of this Blues roster no longer has to wonder what it takes to push through three grueling rounds to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

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