ST. LOUIS -- Now, it’s down to three. Three games to determine which of these two tortured franchises -- the St. Louis Blues or San Jose Sharks -- gets to play for a Stanley Cup.

And after four games, the realization is setting in. The margin between these two teams is basically nothing.

“Everybody has the last games in their minds but when you look at the four games as a whole, the two teams are close in everything they do,” one Western Conference assistant coach said. “It’s two teams that are close in their strengths and weaknesses.”

So when that’s the case, it’s often the team that can play its style of play the best -- in this case, a very similar style. It also comes down to mental toughness. The team that does the best job in these three areas will be the team that advances: