St Louis Blues vs Vancouver Canucks; The Blues Need To Clear A Path To The Playoffs

What must the St. Louis Blues do this week to ensure that they maintain a position within the top eight of the Western Conference so they are guaranteed a playoff position? Do we still have the drive, ambition and the heart to show everyone that we deserve to be a contender this year and win the Stanley Cup for the very first time?

After two dismal losses this last week, the St. Louis Blues find themselves holding sixth in the Western Conference with 48 points, trailing San Jose (49 points) by one point and positioned in front of Minnesota (47 points) and Detroit (47 points) by one point.

While it appeared that the team lost a bit of their edge and their fierce spirit had cooled this week, the team appeared to be working towards what they needed to ultimately defeat their rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, which was to put more pucks in the net.  The Blues launched an arsenal of 30 shots towards the goal; however, they were unsuccessful in evading the unyielding obstacle known as the Chicago Blackhawks’ Goaltender, Corey Crawford. Chicago came out with the victory that night at Scottrade with a score of 2 to 0, ending the Blues Goaltender, Brian Elliott’s shutout streak.

Mar 19, 2013; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; St. Louis Blues center

(21) is congratulated by left wing

(57) and forward

(10) after scoring against Vancouver Canucks goaltender

(35) during the third period at Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

The loss was unfortunate for the team and proves that we need some type of change in the near future to pull this team together so they can gain the momentum that they harnessed at the beginning of the year and this month, so we can work as a more cohesive unit and motivate everyone to play their best together when it counts the most.

The top three stars of the April 14th game with Chicago were announced as Left Wing, Bryan Bickell due to his single goal which gained him the 1st star, Goaltender, Corey Crawford was named the 2nd star with his 30 saves of the night and the Blues Goaltender, Brian Elliott, was named the third star of the game with his impressive stats of 24 saves.  Elliott has definitely shown us that we cannot count him out this season and he appears to have plenty of steam left in the engine to carry the team forward.

On Tuesday, April 16th, the Blues will compete against the Vancouver Canucks at Scotttrade Center at 7:00 p.m. CT. The game will be showcased on Fox Sports Midwest and on Y98 FM.

Vancouver is coming off a big win over Nashville with a score of 5 to 2.  The Center and Assistant Captain, Ryan Kesler, helped the team with their victory by producing a goal in the first and third periods of the game. Game leaders from Vancouver were Ryan Kesler, Center, Derek Roy and Left Wing, Daniel Sedin.

Rumors are buzzing about the possibility of Right Wing, T.J. Oshie and Center, Scott Nichol making an appearance this week if they have recovered from their injury/sickness. Would the addition of Oshie and Nichol prove to be the missing link or dynamic that is necessary to push the team to a victory during each game this week? Should Coach, Ken Hitchcock debut Right Wing, Dmitrij Jaskin this week with hopes that he will have a more positive reaction with the team, just as we experienced with the two new Defensemen, Jay Bouwmeester and Jordan Leopold?

I look forward to tuning in tomorrow to see if the team has determined what changes were needed to stomp the competition and the know how to use their professional skills to play out the remainder of the regular season with their heads held high! I know the team is dreaming of the Cup in 2013, so hopefully we have what it takes to make this dream a reality!

Long Live The Note!