After 52 long years, the St. Louis Blues are finally Stanley Cup champions. There is no easy path to a championship, as every title run is filled with ups and downs.

From controversial calls to overtime thrillers, here are the six moments that defined the Blues' magical Stanley Cup run.

Game 5 vs. Jets: 3rd-period takeover

After stealing both road games to take a 2-0 series edge in the first round, the Blues dropped both contests in their own building and faced a 2-0 deficit heading into the third period of Game 5 back in Winnipeg. The Jets seemed to have finally found their groove and the Blues looked as though they'd be heading home facing elimination.

Ryan O'Reilly cut the lead in half just minutes into the third frame and Brayden Schenn tied the contest with 6:08 remaining. Then, with the Blues pressing in the final moments, Jaden Schwartz got his stick on a centering pass from Tyler Bozak to put the Blues ahead with 15 seconds to play. St. Louis ended the series two nights later in Game 6.

Game 7 vs. Stars: Hometown hero

This moment goes down as one of the most memorable and exciting endings to a postseason game in recent memory. Game 7, double overtime, and an unlikely hometown hero in Pat Maroon storming through the crease to bang in the goal that eliminated the Dallas Stars and lifted the Blues to the Conference Final.

Maroon shared a special postgame moment with his son, Anthony, and celebrated the victory with family and friends in the city where he grew up.

Game 4 vs. Sharks: Punching right back

After blowing the lead with a minute to play in Game 3, a missed hand pass led directly to the Sharks scoring the overtime winner, and the Blues faced a 2-1 series deficit while lacking home-ice advantage. Most teams would have crumbled when faced with such adversity, but not these Blues.

Just 35 seconds into Game 4, Ivan Barbashev provided a much-needed response with his first goal of the postseason. The Blues wouldn't trail for the rest of the series and eliminated the Sharks with three consecutive victories to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1970.

Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final: Gunnarsson calls his shot

This contest headed to overtime with the Blues in danger of falling behind 2-0 in the series. During an intermission bathroom break, Carl Gunnarsson, who rattled one off the post in the final seconds of regulation, told head coach Craig Berube that he needed just "one more chance."

He delivered on his word only 3:51 into overtime, as Gunnarsson hammered a point shot past Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask for his first career postseason goal to tie the series at one as it moved back to St. Louis. That exchange between Gunnarsson and Berube has already been etched into St. Louis sports lore.

Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final: Blues catch a break

After surviving the hand pass against the Sharks, the Blues had karma swing back around in their favor in Game 5 of the Cup Final. With just under 10 minutes to play, Bozak appeared to get away with a trip on Bruins forward Noel Acciari, which led directly to David Perron's game-winning goal.

Game 7 of Stanley Cup Final: Binnington's signature moment

With the Blues up 2-0 in the third period and the Bruins hounding to get on the board, Joakim Nordstrom found himself alone in front of goal with all the time in the world. The 27-year-old forward pulled to his forehand only to be met by a sprawling Binnington, who kicked out his right pad to make the save of his life.

Vladimir Tarasenko went the other way just moments later to make it 3-0 and seal the Blues' first-ever Stanley Cup championship.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk is back in action for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday after clearing concussion protocol, the team announced prior to puck drop.

Grzelcyk will replace Connor Clifton in the Bruins' lineup.

Grzelcyk hasn't played since suffering a concussion in Game 2 against the St. Louis Blues. He was hit hard into the boards by Oskar Sundqvist, who received a one-game suspension.

The smooth-skating defenseman has had a stellar postseason for the Bruins despite a limited role. He's tallied three goals and four assists in 19 games while averaging just over 16 minutes per night.

Boston has controlled 53.7 percent of the shot attempts and 60.8 percent of the high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five while Grzelcyk has been on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Mike Bales' resignation from the Carolina Hurricanes makes a bit more sense now.

Bales will be the Buffalo Sabres' new goaltending coach, sources told The Athletic's Joe Yerdon.

He stepped down from the same role with the Hurricanes on Tuesday after two seasons with the team.

Bales previously served as goalie coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2014-17. He now replaces Andrew Allen, who succeeded Arturs Irbe in Buffalo in 2015.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's settled: Michael and Jim versus Pam.

Steve Carell, who starred as Michael Scott on the hit TV sitcom "The Office," showed where his allegiances lie ahead of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues.

No caption needed, apparently. Does this mean Carell is superstitious? Or maybe just a little 'stitious?

Carell, a native of Concord, Mass., is the second known Bruins fan among the show's cast members. John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert, has been seen at multiple Bruins games throughout the postseason.

Meanwhile, Jenna Fischer, who played Jim's wife, Pam Beesly, is a devoted Blues fan.

Michael and Jim rarely teamed up against Pam on the show, but it now appears the turntables.

We think that pretty much sums it up.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The St. Louis Blues are making multiple lineup changes ahead of the biggest game in franchise history.

Defenseman Joel Edmundson will sub in for fellow blue-liner Robert Bortuzzo, while 19-year-old forward Robert Thomas will be scratched in favor of Ivan Barbashev, who's returning from suspension, head coach Craig Berube said Wednesday, according to The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford.

Here's a look at the Blues' expected lineup, as relayed by Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Forwards:

Defense:

With Bortuzzo, a right-handed shot, being scratched in favor of the lefty Edmundson, the Blues will be dressing four left-handers and two right-handers on defense.

However, Berube told The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno that because right-handers Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko are logging so much ice time, "There's not a lot of (other) minutes over there."

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's not unusual to see people cry in the presence of the Stanley Cup, but rarely does it happen like this.

"Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon spooned milk out of Lord Stanley's mug in a Tuesday night segment featuring Sean Evans, host of the web series "Hot Ones," and pop star Selena Gomez.

Evans interviewed Fallon and Gomez as they sampled progressively hotter wing sauces.

Longtime "keeper of the Cup" Phil Pritchard brought the hallowed trophy out for the interview.

The heat will be turned up even further on Wednesday night when the puck drops for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's not unusual to see people cry in the presence of the Stanley Cup, but rarely does it happen like this.

"Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon spooned milk out of Lord Stanley's mug in a Tuesday night segment featuring Sean Evans, host of the web series "Hot Ones," and pop star Selena Gomez.

Evans interviewed Fallon and Gomez as they sampled progressively hotter wing sauces.

Longtime "keeper of the Cup" Phil Pritchard brought the hallowed trophy out for the interview.

The heat will be turned up even further on Wednesday night when the puck drops for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It all comes down to this.

On Wednesday night, the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins will do battle in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final - the NHL's first winner-take-all championship contest since 2011 and fourth of the salary cap era.

The Blues fell short of clinching their first-ever Stanley Cup with an underwhelming performance in Game 6, but get another shot at glory. The Bruins, meanwhile, forced a Game 7 on home ice for the second time this postseason and seek their seventh Cup. If they win it, they'll move ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks for the fourth-most championships in NHL history.

Before any hardware gets handed out, let's go over three keys to determining the newest champions of the NHL.

Goaltending battle

Tuukka Rask and Jordan Binnington have gotten their respective teams to this point with displays of dominance throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While both players will be a major factor in who comes out on top Wednesday, it's nearly impossible to declare who has the edge.

Rask has posted a .938 save percentage across 23 playoff games so far and is a shoo-in for the Conn Smythe if he secures his 16th win of the tournament. The 32-year-old Finn has been at his best with the Bruins facing elimination, allowing only four goals in three games with a .953 save clip.

Binnington is no slouch either, though, and has delivered time and time again with his Blues facing adversity. St. Louis' unflappable rookie netminder is 7-2 - and 2-0 in the Final - coming off a loss this postseason.

Special teams vs. even strength

Penalty trouble immediately sunk the Blues in Game 6, as Brad Marchand's 5-on-3 opener gave the Bruins momentum they never relinquished. It wasn't the first time this series Boston's taken over a game with its lethal power play, doing the same in Game 3 with an absurd 4-for-4 performance. The B's enter Game 7 operating at 33 percent with the man advantage in the Final and will surely look to seize any opportunity handed to them.

The Blues' penalty kill has been torn apart and their power play hasn't been great either, going just 1-for-18 so far against the Bruins. Ensuring the game is played at even strength has to be a major focal point for coach Craig Berube and his squad, who've owned a slight advantage in most metrics.

(Advanced Stats Courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)

Depth production

Anyone can become a hero with a big performance in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and depth scoring can often play a big role in determining the winner of a do-or-die matchup.

The Blues could use some extra production in the season finale, as only eight skaters have scored a goal and just three have recorded more than one. That said, St. Louis will be back at full strength for Game 7 with Ivan Barbashev set to return from a one-game suspension.

The Bruins, on the other hand, have benefited from contributions across the board, with 15 different skaters finding the back of the net in the Cup Final and 21 overall in the playoffs, matching an NHL record, according to Sportsnet Stats.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.