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St. Louis Blues: Time To Shut It Down

By Kate Cimini

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Tomorrow night the St. Louis Blues will face the Winnipeg Jets on home ice for two points and a possible place in the standings for the Jets.

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The Jets are battling for a playoff wildcard spot, as only four points currently separate the Jets and the Wild, who hold the wild card in the central division. With four games left to the Jets, they could conceivably make a serious bid for that spot if they bring home eight points over the next four games.

Meanwhile, on the St. Louis side of the equation, the Blues may be guaranteed a playoff spot with first place in the central division, but a loss to the Jets could knock them down a spot to second. The Nashville Predators are only one point behind the Blues and while pucks have been bouncing St. Louis’ way lately, let’s not forget that their leading goal- and points-scorer is out of the lineup, with no talk coming from the organization of when he’ll return.

Screenshot from NHL.com of NHL Western Division standings as of 4/6/2015

The Blues and Jets are  separated in the standings by nine wins and thirteen points, a huge number at this time in the season with only four games left to both teams.

A loss would bump them to second place in the division, which would not even cost them their home-ice advantage and would push their very likely first-round matchup against central division rival, the Chicago Blackhawks.

If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably wondering why this game matters at all to the Blues, since dropping a point or two here won’t affect their standings, and it’s a fair point. However, the Blues need to go out on a high note this year and the next three games give them the perfect opportunity to do so.

Why?

Looking Forward

Over the past few months the Blues have been more consistent winners on the road than at home, playing to their fans. Of their last 33 games, going all the way back to the beginning of February, the Blues have picked up more away game wins than home game wins, at a definitive 13 away wins to eight home. (Two of those 21 wins were decided in overtime and three in shootouts.)

Not only is it bad for business to regularly lose in front of a home crowd, but it’s bad for team morale. If the Blues want to continue to see fans in seats in any quantity at the Scottrade Center they have to step up their home game, and their very last homestand this season is what will linger in fans’ minds over the summer.

Mar 19, 2015; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; St. Louis Blues leave the ice after their loss to the Winnipeg Jets after the overtime period at MTS Centre. Winnipeg Jets wins 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

The kind of scene pictured above won’t endear fans to the Blues as we enter the postseason.

Lastly, like any coach worth their mettle, this is exactly the right time for Hitchcock to give lower-ranked players more ice time and see what rabbits they can pull out of their helmets since the Blues have already clinched a playoff spot. Not only is it a great opportunity to keep backup goaltender Jake Allen on top of his game, but it provides the coaches with an opportunity to change up the lines in a mix-and-match fasion and see what chemistry develops, if any.

The lines for the past two or three games have been an exercise for fans in short-term memory recall as our regular combos of 20-42-74 and 17-12-91 (or the cleverly-named SOB and STL lines) have been broken up and moved around, throwing new players and numbers in the mix.

And with the recent call-up of forward Ty Rattie from the AHL Chicago Wolves, the Blues are clearly experimenting with different line combinations, to their advantage thus far.

Next: Jake Allen Clutch In Playoffs Preview Against Chicago

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