A despondent St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn in the immediate moment after suffering a 4-3 double overtime loss against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round on Sunday. (James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/cd3ab41e-53db-4322-94b4-78af3c37fa60.jpeg] A despondent St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn in the immediate moment after suffering a 4-3 double overtime loss against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round on Sunday. (James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images) Now that the St. Louis Blues [http://thn.com/stlouis] and their fan base, probably still in disbelief after what happened in Game 7 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/three-takeaways-from-blues-4-3-double-overtime-loss-against-jets-in-game-7-of-western-conference-first-round] against the Winnipeg Jets [http://thn.com/winnipeg] on Sunday in the Western Conference First Round, there will be a time to reflect on the big picture, which is one that the step this team took this season was massive. The Blues are going to get over it ... one day. Not right now, though. Not this moment. This one will, and should, sting. For quite a while. The Blues, the second wild card from the West, were less than two minutes away from eliminating the Presidents' Trophy winners. The game was right in the palm of their hands. Until it wasn't. The Jets not only tied the game with two extra-attacker goals, including the tying one with 2.2 seconds left in regulation, then scored in the second overtime conclude one of the worst, most gut-wrenching losses in franchise history. "We thought we played a solid 58 minutes tonight," Blues captain Brayden Schenn said after the game. "Unfortunately the last two gave them life. And, overtime, I think going off a body and far side and in. That’s just unfortunate." It was obviously a despondent group of players that had to experience that in the moment, but the aftermath one day should -- and will -- make them better and stronger for it. "It was a great battle, double overtime, Game 7, and I’m just proud of our group," Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. "It's such a great group to be a part of, come to the rink every day, and just proud of them, and just what a year for our group, and looking forward already to just continuing building as a group and what's ahead." But those feelings will reside within them for more than they'd be willing to admit. "Anytime you go out is painful, no matter what the situation or anything like that," Parayko said. "I mean, yeah, it's not ideal, for sure (to be tied in that fashion at the end of regulation), but at the end of the day, we're still giving ourselves a good opportunity to come in (their) building and win. Obviously, very good team over there. Credit to them. They had a great series, and I thought we've had a great series, as well." Blues coach Jim Montgomery went into the locker room after the game and said all the right things, even in the most gut-wrenching of times in the moment. "I did. I went in and thanked them," Montgomery said. "It really hurts right now. You lose Game 7 in overtime, especially when you have the lead going at the end. It just hurts. But I wanted to thank them for their effort, their execution and their part in helping change things. It took everybody on deck to be able to do what we did. We went 19-4-3 down the stretch and we tied the [Calgary] Flames to make the playoffs. It's special. The last three months are some of the most funs times I've had being part of a team. Whether it was a player or coach doesn't matter. It's because of the energy and positive attitudes and how we wanted to get better every day. So I thanked them for that. I'm very grateful for that." The sting should serve as motivation. Especially after the Blues came out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break and were the best team in the league in overcoming an eight-point deficit to work their way into the playoff picture and almost pull off one of the bigger upsets when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. "I think led by our captains and Doug Armstrong and his group, I think what we did here in the last three months is we changed the culture back to where it needs to be -- to be able to grow and get better," Montgomery said. "Now we need to continue to have a great summer and grow as an organization on and off the ice, so that we can continue to build off this. That's what we've done and we've got to continue to do it for our great fans." There were young players in that series -- Jake Neighbours, Jimmy Snuggerud, Zack Bolduc, Tyler Tucker, Alexey Toropchenko, even Philip Broberg -- that can, and will, use the agony of defeat in the cruelest of ways can only motivate them in the most possible ways. "It's only going to help us," Montgomery said. "We have some young players. I don't know how many we have under 25. But I think six of them are on the two power-play units. The exponential growth going through something like this is only going to help us for next year, but it's incumbent upon us to do the work to get better." In the unfortunate aftermath, those players that left that locker room Sunday will not be together moving forward. As with any season, change is inevitable, but the Blues, who didn't allow an even strength goal for 177:19 until the double-overtime goal was scored, know what they have to do moving forward personnel-wise in order to take the next steps. If the retool isn't over yet, it sure is on its last guitar strings. "No one gave us a chance right from the very beginning," Schenn said. "But guys battled hard. Guys competed hard for one another. It's just a tough way to lose when you're that close to advancing."
