As soon as he stepped around the defenseman and into the zone creating a two-on-two, people around me started yelling shoot. And T.J. Oshie could have. As soon as he got to the top of the circle and had a man screening Vancouver’s goalkeeper, the shouts around me became louder. “Shoot it!” And he could have. After he cut across the top of the crease and all that was left between him and a goal was the goalkeeper, the shouts were deafening: “SHOOT IT!” And he could have.

But he didn’t.

Oshie held on to the puck, outlasting the goalkeeper until all that he saw was the white net, open, awaiting his shot. And then, and only then, did Oshie shoot.

This is my fourth year as a season ticket holder for the St. Louis Blues. The first year, the Blues led the league in all the things you didn’t want to lead the league in: lowest attendance, worst home record, worst road record, everything. It was terrible. They were finding new ways to lose: scoring on your own goal while a delayed penalty on the other team had been called, having the puck rebound from the glass off the goalkeeper’s back and into the net (…in overtime), and two short-handed goals against in one power play.

Since then, things have gotten better, slowly, each year. I passed the time and the losses by counting moral victories and baby steps, watching the players drafted a couple years before mature, enjoying the unexpected surprises in players that wouldn’t have had a chance with other teams. Sometimes it was tough, but I was there almost every game, cheering on my team.

Now the Blues sit a single point out of a playoff spot. And it is still an uphill battle. The chances of them making it are still pretty low. But that patience, that not listening to the crowd but following the instincts, the plan, that waiting and waiting and waiting until the goal is plainly in sight, has paid off. These games ARE playoff games. The team lives or dies with every victory or every defeat. And it’s fun as hell to be a part of.

As the Blues management has said over and over, “We are going to follow the plan. We are going to follow the plan. We are going to follow the plan.” I am seeing, right now, that plan take off before my eyes.

(In case you want to see the goal I refer to above, you can find it on NHL’s site here.)