June 12, 2019: The Most-Watched NHL Game, and the Blues Sing

Ryan O'Reilly

June 12, 2019: The most-watched NHL game in television history, with 8.7 million viewers, comes not on a weekend, but on a Wednesday night. It was Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. And while one of teams was in what would be considered a "major market," the Boston Bruins, the other was not: The St. Louis Blues.

Named for the classic W.C. Handy blues song, the Blues were founded as part of the NHL's "Great Expansion" of 1967. For the next 3 seasons, all the "Original Six" teams -- the Bruins, the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the New York Rangers, the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks -- were put into the East Division. And the "Second Six" -- the Blues, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Minnesota North Stars, the Los Angeles Kings and the ill-fated Oakland Seals -- were put in the West Division.

This guaranteed a newly-formed team in the Stanley Cup Finals every season. But the Blues won it 3 straight times, and, all 3 times, they got swept by the more experienced team: The Canadiens in 1968 and '69, and by the Bruins in '70. So realignment was done, by geography. The Blues got to the Stanley Cup Semifinals in 1972, then didn't get to the round, renamed the Conference Finals, again until 1986; then, not again until 2001; then, not again until 2016.

The Seals moved in 1976, becoming the Cleveland Barons, and then folded 2 years later. The Flyers won their 1st Stanley Cup in 1974, the Penguins in 1991, the North Stars in 1993 after moving to become the Dallas Stars, and the Kings in 2021. That left the Blues as the only one still going, and the oldest franchise, that hadn't won the Cup.

Their 2018-19 season didn't seem all that remarkable, as they finished 3rd overall in the Western Conference. In the Western Conference Quarterfinals, they beat the Winnipeg Jets in 6 games, but didn't look like a Cup winner in the making. In the Conference Semifinals, they beat the Stars in 7. Now, they were certainly tested.

But the Conference Finals were against the San Jose Sharks, who had been to the Stanley Cup Finals only 3 years earlier and had the both the edge in experience and the home-ice advantage. But the Blues won in 6 games, advancing to their 1st Stanley Cup Finals in 49 years, seeking their 1st Cup in their 52nd season. (51st, if you don't count the canceled 2004-05 season.)

They were underdogs against the Bruins, who would have home-ice advantage. Sure enough, the Bruins won Game 1, 4-2 at the TD Garden in Boston. But the Blues won Game 2, 3-2, when Carl Gunnarsson scored 3:51 into overtime.

If taking a game in Boston energized the Blues, they sure didn't show it in Game 3 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The Bruins won, 7-2, getting goals from 7 different players. But the Blues won Game 4, 4-2, with Ryan O'Reilly scoring twice. Back in Boston, the Blues won Game 5, 2-1. They could have clinched at home in Game 6, but the Bruins won, 5-1, to send the Finals to Boston for Game 7.

With 3:13 left in the 1st period, O'Reilly tipped Jay Bouwmeester's shot past Tuukka Rask, and the Blues led, 1-0. With 8 seconds left in the period, Alex Pietrangelo scored to put the Blues up, 2-0. That turned out to be all they would need, as Jordan Binnington turned away 32 out of 33 Boston shots.

The Blues won, 4-1, and had their 1st Stanley Cup. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Cup to Blues Captain Pietrangelo, and the Conn Smythe Trophy for Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs to O'Reilly.

The NBA Finals were between Games 5 and 6, and the Toronto Raptors won the title the next night, beating an injury-plagued Golden State Warriors.

On back-to-back nights, St. Louis and Toronto had joined the cities that had won titles in all 4 major league sports. St. Louis had won 11 World Series, the 1958 NBA Championship by the long-since-moved Hawks, Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000 by the since-moved Rams, and now the Stanley Cup. Toronto had won 17 Grey Cups (that counts up there, if not down here), 13 Stanley Cups, 2 World Series, and now the NBA title.

UPDATE: The Blues have a team Hall of Fame. From their Stanley Cup Finalists of 1968, 1969 and 1970, they have inducted owners Sid Salomon Jr. and his son Sid Salomon III, head coach Scotty Bowman, goaltender Glenn Hall; defensemen Barclay Plager, his brother Bob Plager, and Jim Roberts; center Gordon "Red" Berenson; and broadcaster Dan Kelly, who joined for the 2nd season, 1968-69. Although they played for the Blues in this founding period, and were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, through the 2025-26 season, goalie Jacques Plante, defenseman Doug Harvey and left wing Dickie Moore have not been inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.

From the 1970s, they have inducted defenseman Bob Gassoff, left wing Garry Unger. From the 1980s, they have inducted goaltender Mike Liut, left wing Brian Sutter, center Bernie Federko and right wing Wayne Babych. Although they have included right wing Joe Mullen and left wing Doug Wickenheiser with their "honored numbers," and defenseman Guy Lapointe and centers  Doug Gilmour and Vaclav Nedomanský both played for them in the 1980s and went on to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, they have not yet been inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.

From the 1990s, they have inducted right wing Brett Hull, goaltender Curtis Joseph, defensemen Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger, and defenseman Pavol Demitra. Defenseman Scott Stevens played for the Blues in 1990-91. Defenseman Phil Housley played for them in 1994. Center Peter Šťastný played 22 games for them in 1994 and '95. Right wing Glenn Anderson and center Guy Carbonneau played for them in 1995. Centers Wayne Gretzky and Dale Hawerchuck briefly played for them in 1996. But none of those members of the Hockey Hall of Fame have been inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.

From the 2000s, they have inducted left wing Keith Tkachuk. They have not yet inducted anyone from their 2019 Stanley Cup win. Goaltender Tom Barrasso played the last 6 games of his career, in 2003, for the Blues. Goaltender Martin Brodeur played the last 7 games of his career, in 2014-15, for them. But those Hockey Hall-of-Famers have not been inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.

Federko remains the only hockey figure yet inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. In contrast, the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame has inducted Bowman, Berenson, Hall, Federko, Bob Plager, Unger, Sutter, Liut, Hull, MacInnis, Pronger, Joseph, Tkachuk, 1960s-70s defenseman Al Arbour, 1990s right wing Kelly Chase, and Pat Maroon, a St. Louis native who starred at left wing in the NHL, playing just 1 season for the Blues, but it was the 2018-19 Cup season.

*

June 12, 2019 was a Wednesday, as I said. These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Merrill Kelly pitched 7 2/3rds innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Andrew Chafin and Greg Holland completed the 3-hit shutout.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-6 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-7 at Truist Park in the Atlanta suburb of Cumberland, Georgia. Ozzie Abiles doubled Austin Riley home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Miami Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-0 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami. Jordan Yamamoto pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Nick Anderson and Tayron Guerrero completed the 3-hit shutout.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat their cross-State rivals, the Cleveland Indians, 7-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-6 at Target Field in Minneapolis. The Mariners scored 3 runs in the top of the 10th inning, on a fielder's choice, and then on an error.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Houston Astros, 6-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. Mike Moustakas' home run sparked a 3-run top of the 14th inning.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies, 10-1 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 4-2 at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

* And the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Angels, the Chicago White Sox and the Washington Nationals were not scheduled.