Tkachuk adds an element the Blues never have had.(Keith Tkachuk)

He has ugly, black-and-blue welts on his rear legs and lower back. For those who say he was a coach killer or team cancer and that he isn't worth his $8.3 million salary, those battle scars are evidence that they don't know the real Keith Tkachuk.

The selfish, me-first baggage Tkachuk allegedly brought with him to St. Louis after nine-plus seasons with the Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise turned out to be filled with strength, confidence and a team-first attitude. That s what can happen when you're traded to a good team.

Now, it's pretty clear that the blame for all those first-round playoff exits doesn't rest solely with Tkachuk.

Before the final game of the Blues' four-game, second-round sweep of Dallas, Tkachuk had just one goal in these playoffs. But he added a key goal and an assist in the series clincher, and outside of goalie Roman Turek, he was the Blues' best player in the series.

"We like what he brings to the team," coach Joel Quenneville says. "You might look at his production and say he hasn't delivered, but we love what he does. He's tough to contain.

"Whenever he's out there, we spend a lot of time in their end. He's wearing out guys."

Tkachuk, who in 1996-97 became the first American-born player to lead the NHL in goals (52), likes to score. But he likes winning more--and the Blues are in the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1986. There's a correlation.