ST. LOUIS -- Robert Thomas knows that stinging feeling won't go away any time soon.
Nor should it.
A two-goal lead that disappeared in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round against the Winnipeg Jets, Thomas and the St. Louis Blues found themselves on the wrong side of things, and in shocking fashion before falling 4-3 in double overtime.
It shouldn't take away the fact that Thomas, who had eight points (two goals, six assists in the series, had himself another strong season as the team's No. 1 center.
He had himself another season of 80-plus points, his second straight, when he had 81 (21 goals, 60 assists), in just 72 games after missing 10 early in the season with a broken bone blocking a shot in his foot; he came back strong but went through a lull, just like the team did in January, before an 11-game point streak to begin February set the wheels in motion to a roaring finish in which Thomas finished the regular-season with a 12-game point streak.
Thomas talked last week at the end-of-season exit interviews on the stinging loss in the playoffs, whether he was playing injured or not, the season as a whole and where the Blues can go from here:
Is the sting still there from what happened in Game 7 and how do you get over it?
Yeah, definitely still stings, still hurts, but it's part of the game and it's going to take a while to get over it. But things happen and you've just got to learn from it and keep pushing forward and getting better.
How do you feel physically? How was that series for you?
It's fine. It's a tough series, it was a war out there. I feel good and ready to get training and get ready for next year.
Were you playing through anything?
No, it was all good. I was able to play and that's all that matters.
How do you look at this season? So much got done, made such progress and for it to end on a lousy note?
Every year you come in and you want to win it all. That's your goal and it feels like a letdown every time you don't. We made great progress this year and I feel like we took a big step as a team. A lot of people as well took big steps. Yeah it's promising, looking forward. It definitely sucks right now, but looking forward, there's a lot to be excited about and I think everyone can see it and feel it. That's what gets you to move on is looking forward.
What was biggest change that took place from 3-4 months ago and to get to the point that you did?
Throughout the year, if you sort look at ups and downs, we didn't start off great and then when 'Monty' came in, we felt like we were playing good hockey; we just weren't able to get wins. That comes with growing as a team, learning to close out games, learning to play winning hockey. As a team we started to do that and we got frustrated and it wasn't working and you try and change things and then we had a bad stretch of games. And then you go into the break and you come out with a fresh mind and get back to the way we were playing and the results started to come and it keeps on snowballing after that. That's kind of the way I look at the season and you've just got to continue to take that momentum and bring it into the summer, bring it into your training, bring it into how you think about the game, how you play as a team and bring it for next year.
Guys talking two years ago about how attitude's got to change, culture's got to change. How far do you feel like it's come since then and what did it take to get there?
I think a lot of what 'Buchy' said is similar to the way I think. Confidence is a big thing. It's easy to lose and it's tough to gain back. It takes time, it takes a lot of effort. You look at our team, we've got a mix of older guys that have played for a while and younger guys, whether it's their first playoffs or first couple years in the league. I think as a group, we relied a lot on our older guys, guys like 'Sutes,' guys like 'Faulker,' 'Schenner,' and those guys really showed the way and taught a lot of us the culture that we need. I think it made a huge impact on speeding up that process. Kind of like I was saying earlier where throughout the year there were times we were playing really well, just weren't getting the results. That's kind of like that snowball where you slowly start turning it. Once you start getting the results, it just falls.
On your strong finish to season and summer motivation with the Olympics in mind?
Yeah, with team success comes some individual and I was very fortunate the way our team was playing to be able to produce like that. It takes the whole team for that kind of part of it. I think for myself, I talked a little bit about it last year where you see where you can get and you continue to believe it more and more every year and try and get better. For me, I think I took another step this year and looking to do the same again next year. Olympics is obviously a dream since a kid. You watch it, you have memories of whether it's Sidney Crosby's golden goal or what not. It's definitely a goal of mine. I need to really prepare this summer to have a really good chance at it.
Do you think what you've done the last couple months sped things up in terms of Doug Armstrong's vision to make some moves and compete sooner as opposed to later?
Definitely. You have to show that you're ready for that, and you have to show, not only 'Army' and what not, but you have to show the rest of the league. Players have to want to come here. I think we showed that. Everyone that is in our room knows what a great culture we have and has really enjoyed their time in St. Louis. I think that's spreading more and more. I think that's part of it as well.
On confidence easy to lose, tough to get back. How much confidence can you gain by taking Jets to seven games and what you accomplished this year?
A lot. We really pushed and I think as a team, we came together, we played awesome hockey and it was so much fun. The stretch of games at home in front of our fans and just the excitement, the whole arena, everyone can feel it. That part of it was so cool. That was a huge part of what we wanted to accomplish was being better at home ice and having that confidence in front of our fans. We were able to do that. I think that's a huge building block for moving forward and at the same time, you can't be satisfied. We had success at home, but next year, it's going to be just as hard, if not harder. We need to be ready to work and come back better than ever.