FanHouse Brad Boyes

Let there be no question that the St. Louis Blues have character. They have guts. They have fire. Oh, and they have some great young players who will only get better as the years go by.

Trailing 2-0 in the game and 3-0 in the series, the Blues showed zero quit, rallying to tie the score on two second-period goals, and then getting some great goaltending from Chris Mason, who dueled with Roberto Luongo through a scoreless third period. That duel continued deep into overtime, before Alex Burrows scored his second of the game to eliminate St. Louis, 3-2.

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The first night of the Stanley Cup Playoffs produced two laughers, a very entertaining upset, and one impressive defensive performance.

It was the Vancouver Canucks who put together the defense, holding off the St. Louis Blues 2-1.

While the Sedin twins played a big role in their team's win, the big key was a defense that held the Blues at bay during five-on-five play, and a penalty kill that shut down a red-hot power play.

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Exactly 1,230 regular season games have been played. We're down to the best eight teams in each conference. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Wednesday night with four series lid-lifters.

The Western Conference is home to the league's best team (San Jose), the defending champion (Detroit), and the two most intriguing Cinderella stories in the league (St. Louis and Columbus). Can Cinderella put off the stroke of midnight, or will an established power advance their way to the Finals?

With the NHL playoffs just around the corner, FanHouse takes a look at some of the lesser-known teams that qualified. Monday's installment: the St. Louis Blues.

Raise your hand if you expected to see the St. Louis Blues as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. No hands raised, eh? Not surprising. Entering this season, not much was expected from the Blues after falling short of the postseason in each of the previous three years.

Despite a rash of injuries to several key players, the Blues were one of the best teams in the NHL during the second half, and now find themselves with an opening round match up against the Vancouver Canucks. So, who are these guys?

Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.

Rangers 4, Flyers 3: With a win on Sunday -- or a loss in overtime -- the Philadelphia Flyers could have secured the No. 4 seed and home ice advantage in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Instead, the Flyers watched a 3-2 lead after two periods turn into a 4-3 loss, at home, against a New York Rangers team that had absolutely nothing to play for in terms of playoff positioning. As a result, the Flyers are going to begin their opening round series in Pittsburgh against a Penguins team that is extremely difficult to beat on home ice.

The St. Louis Blues are in the middle of a series of must-win games in their quest for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The run continued Thursday in Detroit, where St. Louis tried to rebound from a rather listless effort Wednesday night in Chicago. They got plenty of help from one of their young guns. David Backes is in his second full season with the Blues and was on the cusp of a 30-goal season heading into Thursday's game. He's not "on the cusp" anymore.

Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.

Blues 5, Blue Jackets 2: After knocking off Columbus in a shootout on Saturday, the St. Louis Blues completed their weekend home-and-home sweep of the Blue Jackets with a 5-2 win at Nationwide Arena. Patrik Berglund picked up a goal and two assists for the surging Blues, while Brad Boyes scored his 30th goal of the season, giving him two straight 30-goal campaigns.

T.J. Oshie made some highlights on Saturday for his crushing hit on Rick Nash, and followed it up on Sunday with his 14th goal of the season.

On Tuesday, ESPN hockey writer Pierre Lebrun penned an entry on his blog about Dallas Stars forward Loui Eriksson and his under-the-radar, meteoric rise to 30-goal scorer in the NHL.

The basic premise of the article was essentially: this guy has more goals than a host of star players, and you probably don't know who he is.

Blues 5, Wild 3: Thanks to their 5-3 win over Minnesota on Sunday, the St. Louis Blues find themselves within one point of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with just 13 games to play. The Blues managed to hold off a late Minnesota rally, as Brad Boyes sealed the win with an empty net goal in the closing minute.

Sunday's win comes less than 24 hours after the Blues suffered a loss to Detroit in a game that featured three Red Wings goals in just 46 seconds. The Blues have been on a roll in recent weeks, winning 10 of their past 15 games to stay in the playoff hunt.

Also inside Monday's edition of newsmakers: the Islanders continue their strong play by upsetting Chicago, the Blue Jackets have their winning streak snapped, and the Los Angeles Kings demonstrate just how easy it is to screw up a two-on-none breakaway.

Kings 5, Capitals 4: Exciting game in Washington as the Caps and Kings combined to light up the scoreboard with nine goals and 80 shots in Los Angeles' 5-4 win. The Kings had a number of two-goal leads throughout the night, including a 5-3 advantage late in the third period. With just over a minute to play in regulation, Brooks Laich scored his 13th goal of the season, closing the deficit to just one.

Jonathan Quick managed to hold on for the Kings in net, as Washington fired 22 shots on goal in the third period, and 45 for the game. Alex Ovechkin scored his 37th goal of the season -- and 200th of his career -- for the Capitals.