Four goals in the first period, including a career first for Jimmy Snuggerud, gave the St Louis Blues the cushion they needed to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as the Blues coasted to a 6-1 season finale victory over Utah on Tuesday, April 15 at Enterprise Center.

Brayden Schenn opened the scoring eight minutes into the contest with a snap shot, followed by Pavel Buchnevich’s goal three minutes later. Snuggerud’s first career goal came during the a power play later in the period, when he deflected Zack Bolduc’s shot into the net at close distance. Bolduc would get his goal in the last minute of the first, also on a power play. Jordan Kyrou accounted for both of the Blues’ goals in the third period, while Clayton Keller netted Utah’s only goal on a power play in the second. The Blues outshot Utah 29-23, with 14 of Utah’s shots coming in the second period.

With Minnesota’s win against the Ducks on Tuesday night, the Blues have the second wild card spot and will travel to Winnipeg to start the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Despite being underdogs, the Blues have two items of history on their side: the Blues’ 2019 successful Stanley Cup campaign started in Winnipeg, and they’re going up against the new holders of the Presidents’ Trophy awarded to the best team in the regular season. The winners of this trophy haven’t made it to the Stanley Cup Final since 2013, with two of the last six falling in the first round of the playoffs. The league will release the playoff schedule later this week.