ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

The time too distant, the pressure too unnecessary, the expectations too divided, the standings too incongruent, the run too late, the roster too churned, the cast too different. There were reasons enough for the Blues to distance themselves from six years ago. They don’t have that choice anymore.

With a 5-4 overtime win over the Penguins on Thursday night, the Blues tied a franchise record with their 11th straight win, pulling even with the 2019 team that eventually won the city’s first Stanley Cup. The Blues also set a new club record with their 10th straight home win.

“It’s been up and down for everyone here in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ (since 2019), and I feel like we’re really starting to build something here that’s become something very special,â€� Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist said. “We’re enjoying it every day and we’re just going to keep going and see how far this can take us.â€�

Robert Thomas’ power-play goal at 2:12 of overtime won the game for the Blues after Pittsburgh forced overtime with two third-period goals, including one with 23.8 seconds remaining in the third period. But Thomas picked a corner on Tristan Jarry, allowing the Blues to go home happy despite blowing their first multi-goal lead in more than two months (Jan. 20 at Vegas).

Jake Neighbours scored twice and Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich also found the back of the net for the Blues, whose last lost was March 13 in Pittsburgh.

“We just don’t seem to have juice and it’s going to happen,� Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s a sign of a good team when you don’t have — the expression hockey players always use is ‘we don’t have our legs’ — and we’re still pulling out wins. This is a hard league to win in, as we found out earlier in the year. When you take wins and you’re not at the top of your game, it’s a good sign that you’re managing the game as well as you can to stay in it.�

The win pushed the Blues (91 points with five games remaining) two points clear of the Wild (89 points with six games remaining) in the chase for the first wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference. Minnesota was to play Friday on Long Island, and the Wild own the tiebreaker vs. the Blues thanks to their 33 regulation wins compared to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™ 30.

Calgary (84 points with seven games remaining) beat Anaheim on Thursday night, keeping the Flames seven points behind the Blues. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ can eliminate the Flames with any combination of eight points gained by the Blues or not gained by Calgary.

“Another one of those games where we didn’t think we played to our standard,� Neighbours said. “Finding ways, goalies are playing well. Guys are making big plays in big moments, and keep finding ways.�

The ties to 2019 have faded in the last six years. Only five players on the current Blues roster played playoff games for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ on the way to winning the Cup.

Thomas has morphed from a third-line winger into a bona fide No. 1 center in the league, producing at a 90-point pace thanks to his run as the league’s leading scorer since the 4 Nations break. Sundqvist has undergone two knee surgeries (“Felt a lot younger in 2019,â€� he quipped) and boomeranged back to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ following stints with Detroit and Minnesota.

Brayden Schenn is the heartbeat of the Blues as its current captain. Jordan Binnington is an international hero instead of an unproven rookie. Colton Parayko hasn’t even played a game during this streak while rehabbing from a knee injury.

Alexander Steen watched Thursday’s game from the Blues’ management suite and not from the bench. Patrick Maroon said his goodbye to Enterprise Center two weeks ago as a Blackhawk. The coach who ended the streak in 2019 with the Stars is the same man behind the Blues bench right now. Even Barclay has grown up.

Asked how the feeling of the streaks compares with six years to bridge them, Thomas said it was “so long ago I forgot.�

“But this feels great,� Thomas said. “Coming together at the right time. Even when guys go out of the lineup, we’re next man up. That shows a really good team and a good mindset. Those things are really important coming into the playoffs.�

The parallels are easy to spot. There was the coaching change in the first half. There is the biting forecheck that serves as the foundation. The 2019 team had “Gloria.� This version has Jobu and staring down television cameras.

The differences are also stark. This team wasn’t expected to be a contender; that one was. This team wasn’t rescued by a midseason goaltending switch; that one was. This team is at the start of a window; that one was trying to finally punch through.

The details don’t affect emotions, though.

“Obviously, it’s a completely different team,� Sundqvist said. “We’re a younger, faster team now and more experienced back in 2019. Walking into this locker room, it’s kind of the same feeling as 2019, how tight we are and how much fun we’re having, both on and off the ice. In that aspect, it’s very similar.�

Irrespective of the 2019 team, this team has accomplished enough to be celebrated.

The Blues turned an eight-point deficit at the break into a near certain playoff spot — which can be clinched as soon as Monday. They have gone 17-2-2 since the break, including the league’s 34th win streak of at least 11 games.

Of those 34, only 22 (including the current one) have been accomplished without a shootout win in the first 11 games. The Blues are only the second franchise in the last decade with multiple streaks of at least 11 games (the other is Florida).

“It’s a good feeling in our group right now,� Sundqvist said. “Even if we didn’t play our best games the last two games, we’re finding ways to win. That’s what important right now.�

Thomas said he “probably wouldn’t have believed it� if someone told him the team would win 11 straight after its loss in Pittsburgh three weeks ago.

“It’s been a fun ride,� Thomas said. “We’ve beaten some really good teams, and we’re playing really good hockey. We’ve just got to consistently be there every single night. That’s what makes a great team, and that’s what we’re on our way to be.�