ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues took on the Winnipeg Jets in Manitoba Monday night, while some of their fans gathered more than a thousand miles away at Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis.

The watch party included St. Louis Blues organist Jeremy Boyer energizing the crowd.  Among the fans was Ron Baechle, better known as “Towel Man” for leading goal counts with the waving of his towel.

“It’s electric,” Baechle said. “It’s what you live for because the possibility of bringing the (Stanley) Cup home is real.” 

Joe Klinck recently moved to St. Louis and has been captivated by the excitement around the St. Louis Blues.

“The first week we were here, we went to our first Blues game and went and bought a hockey jersey afterward,” he said.

The Blues dropped the first game of the playoff series even though they scored first and took a 3-2 lead into the final period.  

Fans believe the team is resilient enough to overcome early adversity, just as they rallied for a 12-game winning streak that helped propel the Blues into the playoffs.

Longtime Blues fan Josh Henderson believes the team’s combination of younger and veteran players will help in the playoffs.

“There are five people on that team that won the cup with them,” he said.  “They know what they’re doing.”