The St. Louis Blues will take the ice in their first conference final since 2001 on Sunday.
The club skated to a semifinal series win with an incredibly one-sided 6-1 victory in Game 7 over the Dallas Stars and for head coach Ken Hitchcock, it's the ultimate reward to Blues' players who have endured the team's heartaches.
"I'm happiest for the guys who were here before I got here," Hitchcock said after Wednesday's game. "Those are the guys that did all the bleeding to get us here."
Hitchcock joined the team during the 2011-12 season, inheriting the likes of David Backes, Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk, Ryan Reaves, Alex Pietrangelo, and Patrik Berglund.
Those players combined for five points in Game 7 and 26 during the seven games.
