If the Blues win their first Stanley Cup, they’ll need to beat three more teams. They’ve already disposed of one. Last night they ended the Blackhawks season with a 5-3 win, taking the opening series three games to one. Brent Johnson’s ten-plus periods without a goal ended when Chicago scored on him three times in the second period to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead. Two of those goals were within twenty seconds of each other. But Johnson’s teammates bailed him out with two goals in the final 5:39 of the second period from Scott Young and Chris Pronger. Pronger’s goal came with :03 left in the period. Then at the 6:23 mark of the third, Jamal Mayers scored a turnaround goal on Steve Passmore to make it 4-3. Keith Tkachuk made it 5-3 with a goal at the 15:56 mark. Johnson finished with 32 shots. The Blues are the first team to clinch a first round series and await their opponent for the Western Conference Semifinals. It’s the sixth time in the last seven seasons that they’ve advanced to the semis.
