Best moments from the Moms' Trip

The St. Louis Blues made team history recently, inviting the players' moms for the first time rather than the traditional Dads' Trip.
The Blues clearly made them proud, too, flipping a losing streak into four consecutive wins - all against previous playoff opponents and division rivals.
"I told you guys (the moms would) come through," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube told reporters with a wink after the win over Colorado.
Below are some of the trip's highlights, which were featured on Blues social media and documented by team photographers behind the scenes.

Chief invites moms to team meeting

Berube began the trip by inviting the moms into the visitors' locker room in Colorado to thank them for coming and applaud the hard work they did raising their boys. The moms put on brave faces for what was likely a difficult reunion with the smells of hockey locker rooms.
This meeting ended with some fun pictures taken of moms wearing their sons' gear - including Robert Thomas' mom, Debbie, noting that he still wears the same shin pads she bought for him years ago.

Moms join Blues media scrum

The moms didn't want to just be spectators - they were eager to play a part in all aspects of thier sons' game-day media routines. Debbie put on her reporter's hat to pose Berube an interesting question in his media session after practice on Monday in Denver:

Around the same time, Brayden Schenn's mom, Rita, joined her son as a special guest on Monday's Gameday Report. Brayden took over Joey Vitale's hosting duties, much to his chagrin.

Having a ball at Ball Arena

Inspired by a toast from Bonnie O'Reilly at the pre-game dinner, the Blues Moms brought energy and fun to Ball Arena as only moms can.

Even though her son is injured, Scott Perunovich's mom, Susan, made sure everybody had something sweet to eat.

It may have been just the spark they needed, as the Blues gave everything they had to beat the defending champions 3-2. Despite the sounds of "Country Roads" coming from the event level, it was, in fact, a road win - not a typical sellout crowd at Enterprise Center.

Cards on the team plane

A high-stakes, eight-player poker game broke out as the Blues and the moms flew from Denver to Chicago. Justin Faulk, Jordan Binnington, Ryan O'Reilly, Schenn and their moms Gail, Lindsay, Bonnie and Rita, respectively, all took part. Lindsay came out victorious, but the pot total was not disclosed.

Hockey practice photo shoot

In what was assuredly a blast from the past, Blues Moms once again got to bring their sons to hockey practice. Faulk, Josh Leivo, Ivan Barbashev and Nick Leddy took some wholesome pictures at United Center in Chicago with their moms Gail, Lee, Marina and Vicki.

Hockey - the universal language

Barbashev said his mother, Marina, does not speak a word of English as she traveled from Moscow, Russia to join the trip. "Blues Goal!" must be an easy translation, however, as she got to celebrate with the other moms as her son scored on a breakaway in Chicago. Barbashev also noted after the game that it was the first time he had seen his mother in two years.

Tyler Pitlick's mom, Amy, joined in the celebration as her son scored his first goal as a Blue - including the traditional locker-room puck picture, of course.

Sandra Scandella, present in spirit

Though she had to depart early, Marco Scandella's mom, Sandra, was still present as the Blues took on the Blackhawks - thanks to some handy craftwork by the other moms.

Locker room surprise

As the Blues cruised their way to a 5-2 win in Chicago, the moms got a head start on the celebration and ventured down to the tunnel into the locker room as a touching finale to the trip.

The Blues Moms certainly hope that their memorable trip becomes a future tradition, though they might need to trade back-and-forth with the dads. With nine games already under the Blues Dads' belts, however, it may have to be the Moms' turn for just a bit longer.
As any mother would be first to say, "sharing is caring."