Set goal tending aside.

The issue is not grit and toughness. This team is plenty tough enough. They are 16-8-2 against top ten teams. The issue is if they can score in the play offs......and not just the top line. See last 3 games for reference.

As for past years, pretty sure Binner, Sunny, Schenn, Thomas, Bozak, Dunn, O'Reilly and Barbs were not a part of that, nor was Steen playing 4th line, where he belongs.

Now bring goal tending back in and if Binner really is what he has been you can really throw out "what they have done in the past".

Since Jan 1, these are the NHL's top 5 in points.

League
56 Tampa Bay
55 Boston
54 St. Louis
52 Carolina
49 Calgary

Conference top 5:
54 St. Louis
49 Calgary
46 San Jose
43 Arizona
42 Winnipeg

They may not have the names to win a Cup, they don't have the skill set to win a Cup but this is a good team by any standard. It isn't even about this year, it's about a team that can truly build into a Cup winner in the next year or two off the pieces in place.

Play offs across the whole league will be a crap shoot for all the teams. Blues will draw Preds and might be golfing by mid April. But I don't expect to see any lay down. And if they should get by the Preds.....dear Katy bar that door.