2021 Western Conference Finals

Lore & Background

The 2021 postseason unfolded in the NHL's bubble-and-split-city format, with the Blues based in Edmonton, Alberta. By the time the Western Conference Finals arrived, the Blues had already shown the kind of suffocating, two-way hockey that made them the team to beat in the West. Their regular-season dominance—anchored by a top-three finish in the Western Conference—gave them home-ice advantage in the series, and they used it with surgical precision.

Jordan Binnington, who had already established himself as one of the league's elite netminders, was the emotional and tactical anchor. His positioning, his reflex saves, and his ability to command the crease in front of the goal gave the Blues' defense the freedom to be aggressive along the boards. Opposing teams found that even when they generated chances, the puck simply would not go in, and the frustration bled into penalties and turnovers that St. Louis punished ruthlessly.

The series also highlighted the Blues' depth. Ryan O'Reilly's two-way play, the physicality of Vince Dunn and Colin Parros, the speed of Vince's forecheck, and the offensive creativity of Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn meant Winnipeg could not isolate one problem and solve it. Every time the Jets adjusted, another layer of the Blues' system exposed them. The 4-1 result was less a statement of one great performance and more a statement of a complete, well-coached team that had finally assembled every piece it needed.

In Their Own Story

The arena in Edmonton hummed with a low, electric tension. The ice was fresh, the boards still cold from the morning practice, and the crowd—sparse by pre-pandemic standards but thick with conviction—leaned forward in their seats. Binnington dropped his glove onto the ice, tapped his stick twice, and looked up at the glass. Somewhere beyond the plexiglass, a child in a faded 1968 Blues jersey pressed her palms flat against the surface. The puck dropped. The first shift was a scrum along the Jets' blue line, a tangle of sticks and breath and the sharp crack of a blocked shot. The Blues won the draw. They won the next one. And by the time the third period stretched out like a long exhale, the series was over, the trophy was on the road to Tampa, and the child was screaming so hard the glass vibrated.

Reader's Guide

TEAM TROPHY MILESTONE The 2021 WCF title was the Blues' second Western Conference championship in franchise history, following their 2019 run. It mattered because it was the final barrier between St. Louis and the Stanley Cup—something the franchise had chased since its 1967 expansion into the NHL. Winning this series meant the Blues would face Tampa Bay for the Cup, and winning that Final (which they did, 4-2) ended a 54-year title drought.

GOALTENDING RECORD Jordan Binnington's performance across the 2021 postseason, capped by his WCF play, earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. For a team that had relied on various netminders in prior years, Binnington's emergence as the definitive Blues goalie was the single most important storyline of the run.

INDIVIDUAL & TEAM CONTEXT Ryan O'Reilly, the franchise's all-time leading scorer at the time, anchored the Blues' two-way identity. His penalty-killing minutes, his forecheck, and his leadership set the tone for a team that played hockey the way St. Louis fans had always imagined: hard, structured, and unrelenting.

FANBASE SIGNIFICANCE For Blues supporters, the 2021 WCF was the exhalation after years of near-misses. The 1999 run, the 2019 Final loss, the long stretch of mid-pack seasons—all of it compressed into a single, decisive four-game series that said: this is who we are now.

Did You Know?

• The St. Louis Blues were founded as an NHL expansion team in 1967, meaning the 2021 Stanley Cup was the franchise's first championship in its 54-year history.
• The Blues had previously reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2019, where they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games; the 2021 WCF was their second trip to the Cup Final in four years.
• Jordan Binnington, the Blues' goaltender during the 2021 run, was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the postseason's most valuable player.
• The 2021 playoffs were played under modified protocols due to the ongoing pandemic, with teams based in shared facilities rather than their home arenas.