The St. Louis Blues announced the retirement of Alex Steen on Thursday morning. The news that Steen had to retire because of a back injury is incredibly sad. Instead of focusing on the way his career ended, let’s take a walk down memory lane and relive a few of Steen’s highlight-reel worthy moments as a member of the Blues.
Best Blues Moments From Alex Steen
Alex Steen Overtime Goal
In 2011-12, the Los Angeles Kings swept the Blues in the Western Conference Semifinals. They went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Blues were angry and looking for revenge when the two met again in the Western Conference Quarterfinals the next season.
It was overtime in Game 1 and the Blues were shorthanded. Alex Pietrangelo cleared the puck with almost seven minutes left in overtime. Jonathan Quick went behind the net to grab the puck, seemingly waiting for Drew Doughty to arrive so he could pass it to him. But Alex Steen beat Doughty there. When Quick saw Steen coming, he tried to pass it to Doughty. However, Steen stole the puck and easily turned around and put it in the net. The Blues went on to lose the series 4-2, but that moment still felt like sweet revenge. Especially against the Kings team that swept them the previous season.
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Steen’s Triple Overtime Goal Against the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014
There’s just something about Alex Steen and overtime that mix well together.
This time, the Blues were playing the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2014 Western Conference Quarterfinals. It was Game 1 again, but it took until the third overtime for Steen to score. David Backes came up with the puck and dropped it back to Steen, who shot it off Corey Crawford’s left pad. Then, Backes retrieved the puck again and passed it back to Steve Ott, who passed it back again to Steen. Crawford was down and Steen was able to roof it easily while the Blackhawks players just watched it go in. The Blues lost this series 4-2 as well, but this win propelled the Blues and Blackhawks rivalry even further. Back before the Blues won a Stanley Cup, playoff wins, especially intense wins like this, over the Blackhawks were the best it got for Blues fans.
Steen’s 2017 Winter Classic Goal
Maybe this is one of those goals that to consider it one of Steen’s best as a Blue, you had to be physically at the Winter Classic at Busch Stadium when the Blues played the Blackhawks. It may not seem like a big deal because he scored on an empty net to make it 4-1 in a game the Blues were already going to win, but as a fan, the atmosphere of the Winter Classic was unlike any other game. So it’s safe to assume it was the same way for the players. It felt like a once in a lifetime experience and Steen certainly made the most of it and made stealing the puck from the Blackhawks look easy.
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Steen’s Hand in Oskar Sundqvist’s Goal in 2019 Western Conference Final
Steen made it to the Western Conference Final twice as a Blue. Most of the other seasons he was in St. Louis, the Blues either didn’t make the playoffs or lost early. His overtime goals in previous seasons in the playoffs were huge, but it always means more for players to come up big later in the playoffs.
It was Game 2 against the San Jose Sharks in the 2019 Western Conference Final. At this point in his career, Steen wasn’t getting as many minutes as he previously did, but with this pass to Oskar Sundqvist, he made the most of the time he got. Even though Steen is much older here, in this play, it’s easy to see a flash of a young Steen. Pietrangelo passed the puck to Steen, who shot Sundqvist the puck with a beautiful turnaround pass to avoid the Sharks’ defenceman. The Blues won this game, the series and the Stanley Cup in 2019. While Steen was no longer one of the top forwards on the team, he still helped his teammates out with plays like this and it helped the Blues win the Cup.
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