Conference Final Berth Worth the Wait

DALLAS — When David Backes arrived in St. Louis during the 2006-07 season, the Blues were coming off a rare year without a Stanley Cup Playoff appearance. Before missing the playoffs in 2005-2006, the Blues had played beyond the regular season for 25 straight seasons. The Blues had even been to the Western Conference Final in 2001.

So perhaps his first thought upon joining the team wasn’t about the years of frustration he might endure, years without playoff success, years without playoffs entirely. As Backes said after St. Louis eliminated the Dallas Stars 6-1 in Game 7 of the second round on Wednesday, “It’s been on the goal sheet every single year.

“But this year we seemed to have a closer group that was willing to sacrifice more and when things got tougher, bind closer together rather than start pointing fingers. That’s something we’ve been trying to build here for a long time. We seem to have the right group now.”

That was why, after the Blues reached the conference final for the first time in 15 years, coach Ken Hitchcock reflected on Backes (10 seasons in St. Louis), Alexander Steen (eight), Alex Pietrangelo (eight) and Patrik Berglund (eight), the players who had endured in St. Louis, the players who were finally being rewarded.

“I’m happiest for the guys who were here before I got here,” said Hitchcock, whose Blues will face the San Jose Sharks in Game 1 on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports). “And those are the guys that did all the bleeding to get us into a position now. They were the guys that took their lumps when the team was trying to just rebuild itself. Those guys, like Backes and Berglund and Petro and those guys that have been here a while, I’m happy for them …

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