Blues, Stanley Cup arrive in St. Louis

The St. Louis Blues arrived home with the Stanley Cup early Thursday and were greeted by fans at the airport waiting to celebrate with their team.

Hours after defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday, the Blues landed at Lambert Airport in St. Louis. Forward Alexander Steen, the team's longest-tenured player (11 seasons), stepped off the plane first and lifted the Cup over his head.

The players then took turns passing around the Cup before boarding a bus, but not before captain Alex Pietrangelo, a defenseman who scored the Cup-winning goal, and forward Vladimir Tarasenko each lifted the Cup for cheering fans waiting close by.

"It means the world to me," forward Pat Maroon, who grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis, said after the game. "To bring it back home to St. Louis; it can't be better, being from St. Louis and being with those fans when I was young. Even when I played in the National Hockey League for other teams, I still watched those Blues and how they suffered and how those fans suffered."
It is the first Stanley Cup championship for the Blues since entering the NHL in the 1967-68 season.