The St. Louis Blues were eliminated from the NHL playoffs on Sunday afternoon. The team had a 2-0 lead in the series against the defending Champions Chicago Blackhawks but managed to lose four straight; the team replicated the same feat a year ago when it had a 2-0 edge on the then defending champion Los Angeles Kings, but lost four straight. Here is a look at the highs and lows of the team in 2013-14.

Highs

The Blues were an elite team throughout 2013-14 and were in the conversation as top contenders throughout the year. The team opened the season with a four-game winning streak and won 11 out of 15 games in November; they replicated the feat in March. The Blues won seven-straight at the end of December through early January and went to the Olympic break on a four-game winning run. The team finished with 111 points on the year and could have done better if not for a six-game losing streak to finish out the year (more on this below). The team's top players continued to produce, including TJ Oshie, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, David Backes, Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo. The team had five 20-goal scorers and one 30-goal scorer (Steen).

Lows

Until the final month of the season, it seemed as if the Blues were destined to be a President Trophy winning team. They were leading the West and looked unstoppable. But then the team fell apart in the final weeks of the season and lost its division lead after enduring a six-game losing streak to close out the season; the team scored five times in those six games and was shutout three times in that span. Instead of facing Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs, the Blues were forced to face the defending Champions Chicago Blackhawks.

Team MVP

Captain David Backes had a terrific year for the Blues and put up 27 goals and 57 points throughout the season with a 16.4 shooting percentage. It was not the best point total of his career (it was the second best), but his play throughout the season was emblematic of what the team needed from its captain. It is interesting to note that when Backes was taken out by a harsh hit by Brent Seabrook in Game 2, the momentum swung in Chicago's favor.

Elimination Scapegoat

Ryan Miller was brought in at the trade deadline to be the missing link for this perennial contender. After some questionable efforts in net from Jaroslav Halak in past playoff runs, the team felt that Miller would come in and be the difference maker. Unfortunately, there was never an indication that Miller could be this kind of playoff superstar, as he had never gotten back the Conference finals despite solid stats. Miller responded with a mediocre playoff performance that included a .897 save percentage in six games. He never looked comfortable throughout the series and failed to make the big saves in the latter games to help his team. Moreover, he was mediocre since arriving in St. Louis with a .903 save percentage in 18 starts; the team lost eight of those games; he had a .923 save percentage while playing for a far worse Buffalo Sabres team prior to the trade.

But Miller was not alone to blame. The team's powerplay was woeful in the six games series and only managed to score two goals in 29 opportunities. A few more goals on the man advantage and St. Louis could be singing a different tune.