The Blues defeated the San Jose Sharks
5-0 in Game 5
of the Western Conference Final at SAP Center on Sunday, taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. Win Game 6 on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS), and they'll make the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1970, and they'll do it in front of their home fans.
"Gloria," indeed.
"I don't want to comment on that, because … "
Maroon laughed.
"I don't know what to say, but yeah, we're close," he said, turning serious. "We're very close right now. I think the guys know that. It's in the back of their heads. But we know that that's a good hockey team over there too, and they're not going to give up."
RELATED: [Complete Sharks vs. Blues series coverage]
Already, arguably, this is the greatest Stanley Cup Playoff run in Blues history.
They made the Final in each of their first three seasons: 1967-68, 1968-69 and 1969-70. But that was after the NHL doubled to 12 teams and put the newcomers in their own division. There were three rounds, not four, and the playoffs were set up for one of the new teams to play one of the Original Six in the Final. The Blues were swept by the Montreal Canadiens in 1968 and 1969, then by the Boston Bruins in 1970.
The only other time the Blues have come this close to the Final was 1986, when there weren't four best-of-7 rounds. They defeated the Minnesota North Stars 3-2 in a best-of-5 series, defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in a best-of-7 series and lost to the Calgary Flames 4-3 in the best-of-7 Campbell Conference Final.