Ron Shock wipes the champagne out of his hair after his goal lifted the Blues to their first Stanley Cup in 1968. Gene Pospeshil/Post-Dispatch
In their first season, the Blues advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs and beat the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games to get through the first round. In the semifinals, the Scotty Bowman-coached club faced the Minnesota North Stars. It became an epic series, with four of the seven games going into overtime.
The North Stars won 5-1 in Game 6, forcing a Game 7 in St. Louis on May 3, 1968. A then-record crowd of 15,586 was in attendance, with Glenn Hall in the Blues' net and Cesare Maniago between the pipes for Minnesota.
The goalies were outstanding as the game remained scoreless until Walt McKechnie beat Hall to give Minnesota a lead with just more than three minutes remaining.
Forty-three seconds later, aging Dicke Moore scored for the Blues to tie it and send the game into overtime, again.
"I knew Dickie was going to score," teammate Bob Plager said later. "He was holding that stick tight as could be and he had this look on his face. He just had this special look."
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The first overtime ended scoreless. But 2:50 into the second overtime period, Blues center Ron Schock got loose, broke in on Maniago and snapped a wrist shot past him to win the game 2-1 and send the Blues to the Stanley Cup Final.
Again, not the best conclusion. The Blues were swept in four games by Montreal, with each game decided by one goal.
Scotty Bowman and Al Arbour are at the center of a happy gang of Blues celebrating their win in Game 7. UPI photo.
Do you remember Maroon's magic?: A look back at the Blues history in Game 7s
April 18: 1968: Blues 3, Flyers 1
Quarterfinals at Philadelphia
Won 3-1
Division champ Flyers stopped cold by Mr. Goalie, Glenn Hall.
1968: Blues down Flyers 19 Apr 1968, Fri St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) Newspapers.com
May 3, 1968: Blues 2, Minnesota 1
Semifinals
vs. Minnesota
Won 2-1 (2 OT)
On day it was announced NBA's St. Louis Hawks were moving to Atlanta, Schock's goal sent St. Louis' first-year hockey team to Stanley Cup Finals.
Blues 2, Minnesota 1 Sat, May 4, 1968 – Page 5 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchApril 16, 1972: Blues 2, Minnesota 1
1972 Quarterfinals
at Minnesota
Won 2-1 (OT)
Reward for ousting North Stars was series vs. Bobby Orr and the Bruins. Boston swept, scoring 28 goals in four games.
April 16, 1972: Blues 2, Minnesota 1 Mon, Apr 17, 1972 – Page 24 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchApril 22, 1984: Minnesota 4, Blues 3
1984 Division finals
at Minnesota
Lost 4-3 (OT)
Blues had game in hand until Willi Plett got 75-foot shot past Mike Liut, tying game in regulation.
April 2: Minnesota 4, Blues 3 Mon, Apr 23, 1984 – Page 27 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchApril 30, 1986: Blues 2, Toronto 1
1986
Division finals
vs. Toronto
Won 2-1
Victory put Blues in NHL's "final four" -- last time they've been there.
Conference finals
April 30, 1986: Blues 2, Toronto 1 Thu, May 1, 1986 – Page 24 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchMay 14, 1986: Calgary 2, Blues 1
1986
Conference finals
at Calgary
Lost 2-1
Blues couldn't cash in after Monday Night Miracle win tied series.
May 1, 1986: Calgary 2, Blues 1 Thu, May 15, 1986 – Page 35 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchApril 30, 1990: Chicago 8, Blues 2
1990
Division finals
at Chicago
Lost 8-2
In Blues' playoff lore, it's known as the Monday Night Massacre.
April 30, 1990: Chicago 8,blues 2 Tue, May 1, 1990 – Page 30 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchApril 16, 1991: Blues 3, Detroit 2
1991
Division semifinals
vs. Detroit
Won 3-2
Blues became 8th NHL team to rebound from 3-1 deficit and win playoff series.
April 16, 1991: Blues 3, Detroit 2 Wed, Apr 17, 1991 – Page 32 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchMay 15, 1993: Toronto 6, Blues 0
1993
Division finals
at Toronto
Lost 6-0
Maple Leaf Gardens crowd taunted Cujo: 'Jo-sieve, Jo-sieve, Jo-sieve.".
May 15, 1993: Toronto 6, Blues 0 Sun, May 16, 1993 – Page 55 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchMay 19, 1995: Vancouver 5, Blues 3
1995
Conference quarterfinals
vs. Vancouver
Lost 5-3
Iron Mike's Blues were Cup contenders, but Canucks won 3 games at Kiel.
May 19, 1995: Vancouver 5, Blues 3 Sat, May 20, 1995 – Page 28 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchMay 16, 1996: Detroit 1, Blues 0
1996
Conference semifinals
at Detroit
Lost 1-0 (2 OT)
The Great One coughed up the puck, and Steve Yzerman made the Blues pay.
May 15, 1995: Detroit 1, Blues 0 Fri, May 17, 1996 – Page 27 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchMay 4, 1999: Blues 1, Phoenix 0
1999
First round at Phoenix
Win 1-0 (OT)
Coyotes coach "guaranteed" a Game 7 victory, but Pierre Turgeon's tip-in at 1:05 a.m. St. Louis time won it for Joel Quenneville's Blues.
May 4, 1999: Blues 1, Phoenix 0 Wed, May 5, 1999 – Page 30 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchApril 25, 2000: San Jose 3, Blues 1
2000
First round vs. San Jose
Lose 3-1
NHL's regular-season champs lose to No. 8 seed in what a Post-Dispatch columnist calls the "most embarrassing of all the Blues' playoff flops."
April 25, 2000: San Jose 3, Blues 1 Wed, Apr 26, 2000 – Page 25 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchApril 24, 2003: Vancouver 4, Blues 1
2003
First round at Vancouver
Lose 4-1
Al MacInnis returns early from a separated shoulder after Blues blow a 3-1 series lead, but his giveaway leads to Canucks' game-tying goal and The Note's demise.
April 22, 2003: Vancouver 4, Blues 1 Wed, Apr 23, 2003 – Page 33 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · St. Louis Post DispatchApril 25, 2016: Blues 3, Chicago 2
2016
First round vs. Chicago
Win 3-2
The Blues exorcise the demons of recent first-round disappointments when Troy Brouwer scores the winner midway through the third period.
May 11, 2016: Blues 6, Dallas 1
2016
Second round at Dallas
Win 6-1
The Blues take away any of the drama with a 3-goal onslaught in the first period.
May 7, 2019: Blues 2, Stars 1, 2OT
Quarterfinals at St. Louis
Won 2-1, 2OT
Game 7 Thrill: Hometown hero Pat Maroon scored in double OT against Stars to advance.
June 12, 2019: Blues 4, Bruins 1
Final in Boston
Won 4-1
Game 7 Thrill: Jordan Binnington withstands a Bruins barrage in the first period as the Blues take a 2-0 lead.
