How Did The Blues Win Their First Cup?

Gloria! As you probably have heard on the news, the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup last night, 4-1, in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. A topsy-turvy season that culminated into a Stanley Cup victory had story lines such as being in last by the beginning of January and an interim head coach winning the Stanley Cup. How did the Blues win the Cup?

• Neutral Zone Dominance: Boston couldn't do anything in the neutral zone when St. Louis won a game in the Stanley Cup Finals. Being able to create turnovers and skate from one end to another with ease led to goals like this in St. Louis victories.
  

• Road Warriors: The Blues are the first team to win the Stanley Cup with a losing record at home (6-7). Being able to tune out the crowd and take them out of the game, especially after a loss, made St. Louis a tricky opponent in the playoffs.
  
• Jordan Binnington: Now, there were some games that Binnington was disastrous in (see Games 3 and 6). But the rookie came through when the Blues needed him in Game 7, recording 32 saves that included a sprawling stop on Joakim Nordstrom in the third period.
  
• Big-Time Scorers: It wasn't just the Conn Smythe winner, Ryan O' Reilly, who scored in four straight games, that was a key component in the Blues' run. Jaden Schwartz (12 goals) and Vladimir Tarasenko (11 goals) were tough to contain during St. Louis's postseason run.