ST. LOUIS — Jay Bouwmeester is not overly excited about the first Stanley Cup playoff action of his career.

Sure, 764 regular-season games over 10 years was an awfully long time to wait. Skating in May is a just reward for the iron man of the N.H.L., who has played 637 consecutive games, including Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. But what is he supposed to do, froth at the mouth?

“I don’t want people to think I’m out to lunch or anything,” said Bouwmeester, the 29-year-old defenseman the St. Louis Blues acquired from Calgary in an April 1 trade. “I appreciate the chance to be in the playoffs, but I’m no different from anybody else.”

Bouwmeester — along with the 11-year veteran Jordan Leopold, a trade-deadline acquisition from Buffalo — rolled like a wave of calm into a town where anxious hockey fans tend to expect crushing defeat. The veterans helped keep the Blues’ emotions in check on the ice during a pair of 2-1 victories to open the series against the defending champion Los Angeles Kings, who swept St. Louis out of the second round last season.