STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – After leaving Dallas at 11:20 p.m. last night, the Blues’ plane touched down in Stockholm about two hours ago. With the seven-hour time difference from CST, it was 5 p.m. local time when they arrived.

As the wheels of the plane rolled to a stop, players deboarded and began rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. Blues winger Alex Steen, a Swedish citizen, pointed to a nearby Swedish Air Force plane. The plane looked more like something out of a Red Baron pizza commercial than a military jet.

“We don’t have guns on our military planes,” Steen said. “We just fly by you and ask you nicely to stop what you’re doing.”

Patrik Berglund, the only other Swede on the Blues’ roster, had a smile on his face as the team boarded a bus headed for the team hotel.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Berglund said. “It’s fun to come back to my home country and play hockey. I’m really excited to be here.”

Click here for the video ^[1] of the Blues’ arrival (stay with it long enough to receive your “Welcome to Sweden” message from T.J. Oshie).

The team had a 30-minute ride to its hotel. After checking into their hotel rooms, players were headed out for dinner. After dinner, they had a scheduled team meeting and then some rest time.

“It was a long flight, but knock a couple of (sleeping) pills back and you’re good for the whole ride,” Blues defenseman Erik Johnson said.

Rookie Alex Pietrangelo made the time go by on the flight by watching two movies.

“I watched ‘Proposal’ and ‘Hangover,’” Pietrangelo said.

Which one was better?

“Hangover is pretty darn good,” Pietrangelo said.

Blues goaltender Ben Bishop proved that people 6-foot-7 can get comfy on planes.

“It actually worked out nice,” Bishop said. “I had two seats and a little table in front of me, so I was able to stretch my legs all the way out.”

Blues coach Andy Murray caught a couple hours of sleep. He might have had more if he hadn’t been interrupted . . . on purpose.

“I was sleeping and I got a tap on the shoulder in the middle of the night from Keith Tkachuk saying that he couldn’t sleep,” Murray said. “I said to him, ‘Keith, what do you want me to do about it?’ He’s my 37-year-old kid.”

The Blues have a practice scheduled for Monday afternoon, and then the players will participate in a scavenger hunt. Murray said the clues and items will be located in different historical sites throughout Stockholm, with the emphasis on keeping the players active as much as keeping them entertained.

JR