So they really arent the same old St. Louis Blues 5 reasons why

They tried to tell the hockey world that they weren't the "same old St. Louis Blues," but most didnt listen. Not even when the Blues went up 3-1 in their first-round series against the did they have many convinced. When the Blues lost Game 5, the skepticism seemed prudent. When they lost Game 6 in rather spectacular fashion, you could almost feel the thousands of "I told ya so's" coming.The only way to start changing the narrative was to win in a Game 7, against their chief rivals who also happened to be the defending Stanley Cup Champion. So thats what they did, outlasting the Blackhawks 3-2 in a thrilling finale to their first-round series.The latest from SportsLineIt wasnt easy, but thats probably the way it was supposed to be. If the team wanted to exorcise the playoff demons that plagued them, they had to take the hard road and survive. They also needed some good fortune, as pretty much every single succe sful playoff team needs (even if they wont admit it). The puck finally bounced for them.Now, the Blues arent done. You cant be labeled a succe s by winning one round of the playoffs, even if you just knocked off the defending champion. The Blues havent been past the second round in 16 years. They havent been to a Stanley Cup Final since reaching it for a third straight year in 1970.Theyre of course also still looking for that elusive title. Climb that mountain and there will be no one left to doubt you. However, there has to be some belief after winning such an emotional series. There should be belief not only because of the win, but because of what this team has accomplished this year and how Austin Seibert Jersey theyve accomplished it.Part of it is because they really are different. Here's how:1. was finally trusted to be a No. 1 goalie againIn the Blues' previous two trips, Brian Elliott couldnt get a sniff in the postseason. In 2013-14, the Blues went out and got at the trade deadline because they didnt think they could get the job done with the tandem of Elliott and . Last year, Elliotts understudy outdueled him for the No. 1 job and even when faltered, head coach Ken Hitchcock stuck with him.Subpar goaltending sunk the Blues in each of those outings. Miller put up an .897 save percentage as the Blues squandered a 2-0 series lead to lose 4-2 to the Blackhawks in the first round. Last year, Allen had a .904 save percentage as the heavily-favored Blues were bounced by the in six. Then this season rolled along and Elliott, who had started 13 playoff games over the 2012 and 2013 postseasons for St. Louis, was one of the best goalies in the entire league with a .930 save percentage. A late-season injury could have cost him the No. 1 job, but he managed to get himself back won six of eight starts while posting three shutouts down the stretch, winning him the faith of his team and his coach.Over the seven games against Chicago, Elliott was brilliant. He made 236 saves and put up a .929 save percentage over the seven games as the Blues were often outshot. The position that has been this teams big question mark became one of its greatest strengths.2. They have a legitimate top four defense nowThe and Chicago Blackhawks are both out after the first round and one of the big holes for each team was that they didnt have a solid enough No. 4 defenseman. Without a good top four, youre usually going to be Greedy Williams Jersey toast this time of year when you get into games against other quality teams. The workload defensemen have to shoulder when multiple overtimes are po sible and the physicality can take its toll. Enter rookie , who was playing for the University of Alaska last season. The former third-round draft pick made a very, very quick transition and became that No. 4 defenseman the team desperately needed, kind of out of nowhere. He was seen as a quality prospect, but a key player in Year 1?Parayko averaged 20:44 of ice time per game in the first round, being trusted in a lot of situations and alleviating some of the burden from and , who still logged big minutes. The 22-year-old blueliner also scored two goals in the T. J. Carrie Jersey playoffs, including one in Game 7. He apparently was the first defenseman ever to score in a Game 7 for the Blues. That seems hard to believe, but here we are.Colton Parayko becomes the first defenceman in history to score a Game 7 goal Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) 3. The - trade workedThis is more in the small picture, than the big picture, but its hard to argue now this deal didnt pay off.When the St. Louis Blues traded away T.J. Oshie, a former first-round draft pick and core player, to the , it raised some eyebrows. While Troy Brouwer is a quality NHL veteran to get in return, Oshie was a little younger and a lot more productive. The Blues needed some cap space, though. Oshie still had two years left on his deal. Brouwer was slightly cheaper and his contract expires after this season. The Blues had other players emerge that could play top-six roles to replace what was lost by Oshie. and had great seasons, the Blues probably knew was going to make a pretty instantaneous impact and they had one of the leagues best goal scorers at their disposal in .You can never have enough scoring, but if you have to lose a little to stay under the cap, you have to have depth. The Blues had it and it made a valued player expendable. Every team usually has to cro s that bridge in a cap league.And who scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 for the Blues? Troy Brouwer. Whacking. Banging. Taking the lead. This game is insane. #StanleyCup Playoffs (@NHL) Oshie is doing just fine as a member of the Capitals, but the Blues needed to alter their core a little and Brouwer already earned his keep.4. The Blues have tremendous forward depth and use it wellWhen you look at the Blues roster, theyve got a lot of versatile players. It allows them to create balanced lines. It also gave them opportunities to focus their matchups, something that wont be as easy without home ice advantage against the Dallas Stars in the second round.The top line with Jaden Schwartz, Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko was able to get things cooking offensively in the series and will be tough to shut down. Tarasenko had four goals Myles Garrett Jersey , Schwartz led the team with seven points and Lehtera has four points, which includes Game 7s opening goal. They still probably should try to get this group more shifts, but hard to argue with the results. can float among some different lines and can be used for offense or for his excellent defensive prowe s. He and saw a lot of in this series, holding the Blackhawks captain without a goal all series. No team has ever done that in the postseason before.Hitchcock loves to play the matchups and he was able to do that against the Blackhawks. But he has a lineup now that is even more capable of scoring goals when they do that. Shutting the opposition down is obviously important, but you cant just give up attacking. The Blues wont because they have a number of players that can burn you offensively. Another reason to have some faith in this depth? Just look at how many injuries this team dealt with over the course of the season. They still managed to win 49 games despite almost never having their Larry Ogunjobi Jersey complete roster. Now theyre healthy and it shows.5. Alex Pietrangelo took charge as the No. 1 defensemanNo one denies that Alex Pietrangelo is a top-end defenseman. However, last season it looked like he took a step back. His numbers took another dip again during this regular season. However, when the playoffs hit, the cornerstone defenseman for this team looked the part. He did a little bit of everything for the Blues in this series and was asked to shoulder a lot of responsibility. He took charge of his role in a way that we may not have seen yet in his NHL career.The po se sion numbers dont look good, but nobody tends to put up good po se sion numbers when theyre hopping over the boards and trying to stop and Jonathan Toews. Pietrangelo wasnt perfect. He made a few key mistakes in the series, but in the big picture, he did his job in limiting the amount of times those players were able to hurt the Blues.Pietrangelo logged and average of 30:33 per game, posted a goal and five a sists, blocked 25 shots and provided a steady presence at the blue line. He seemed to be a factor in every game.The Blues put forth a total team effort to put away the Blackhawks, but their star defenseman was asked to do the most. He didnt fade under that pre sure. If he can keep it up, Pietrangelo could lead this team to new heights.