It was in Game 2 on Monday when third-pair defensemen Robert Bortuzzo and Vince Dunn scored, as did fourth-line center Oskar Sundqvist, in a 4-2 win that evened the best-of-7 series 1-1.
And as the Blues come home for Game 3 at Enterprise Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN360, TVAS), they're appreciating how much their depth players have produced in the postseason.
RELATED: [Complete Sharks vs. Blues series coverage\]
"It's been huge," coach Craig Berube said. "We've gotten production from both of our back end and forwards, right through the whole lineup, which is always important in the playoffs. It's tight out there, a lot of times, top-line guys, they get shut down and checked on a nightly basis. It's important we have four lines and six [defensemen] contributing, game to game."
And those points have come at clutch times. Pat Maroon, a third-line forward, scored the winning goal in the second overtime when the Blues eliminated the Dallas Stars 2-1 in Game 7 of the second round. Bortuzzo's goal, his first point of the 2019 playoffs and the first postseason goal of his NHL career, was the winner in Game 2 against the Sharks. Sundqvist's backhand goal gave the Blues a 4-2 lead against the Sharks with 3:08 remaining.
The Blues' bottom-six forward depth has been key the entire postseason. The third line of Maroon, Tyler Bozak and Robert Thomas has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 15 games. Bozak has eight points (three goals, five assists), Maroon has five points (three goals, two assists), and Thomas has five points (goal, four assists).
