6 defining moments of Blues' Stanley Cup run

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.

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