Let’s be honest. When Vladimir Tarasenko, one of the best scorers in the NHL, went down with season-ending shoulder surgery in October, more than a few St. Louis Blues fans figured the season had become a toss-up, a struggle at the very least to defend the title.
It’s hard enough to go back-to-back in this league, but even more so without true scoring firepower and a roster that carried more than its fair share of inexperience outside a miraculous spring surge.
The honeymoon of the Stanley Cup victory hadn’t entirely worn off, but the afterglow of the celebration had ceased and real hockey was again being played.