St. Louis Blues: Time to Slay the Dragon

What was expected for quite some time became official on the last day of the regular season. The St. Louis Blues will be playing the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round of the playoffs. Now it’s time for St. Louis to slay the dragon.

St. Louis hasn’t had the best of luck against the Chicago Blackhawks in recent years. Just when people thought the tables might be turning, the door would be slammed in the Blues’ faces.

St. Louis last played the Blackhawks in the playoffs two seasons ago. Things got off to an amazing start with the Blues winning the first two games. However, as would become a theme for the Blues, they lost the next four games.

To add insult to injury, that same season saw the infamous “Wakey, wakey Backes,” said by

Duncan Keith

So now the rematch is set, if a couple seasons removed. The Blues must now overcome their opponent and themselves.

The Blues have always had dragons to slay and seem to have come up just short. For as good as the Blues were during the late 90’s and early 2000’s, they always had to go up against the dynasty of the Detroit Red Wings. Even a team with Brett Hull and Wayne Gretzky came up short against those blasted Red Wings.

Then after some down years, the Blues came back with a vengeance only to be outmatched by the most talented Blackhawks team that Chicago has seen since the early 90’s. Now the Blues are faced with taking that team out in the very first round of the playoffs.

Much like those matchups in the days of the early 90’s, the Blues have to face their enemy on the battleground and take them down. The Blues have done it before. Hull and company upset the Blackhawks team that most figured to be a lock to win the Cup.

So, the past has proven that it can be done. It will not be easy. For as talented as the Blues are and can be, they don’t have the star power that Chicago does. They don’t have players to match Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa goal for goal.

What they do have is a team. The Blues roll out three (sometimes four) lines that are more than capable of scoring. They’ll need everyone clicking for it to work, but this year has already proven that the Blues are capable of beating Chicago.

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For the first time in what feels like forever, the Blues won the season series with Chicago three games to two. The Blues also took two out of three game in Chicago. Normally the United Center is a fortress, but the Blues found a way to penetrate those thick, stone walls.

The naysayers will point out that Chicago won their games by two goals each (4-2 and 2-0) and the Blues had to go to overtime twice and a shootout once to win. I say that prepares them for the playoff struggle.

Playoff games are notoriously tough regardless of who your opponent is. Knowing you can take down a team like Chicago when forced to go that extra mile in the extra frame is nothing but a mental boost.

The Blues also proved they are capable of coming back against adverse conditions. Brian Elliott and then entire team played terribly early in the season only for the team to rally behind Jake Allen and come back from 5-0 to win 6-5. Then after playing a woeful 55 minutes, the Blues rallied back again in Chicago to win 2-1 in overtime late in the season.

Nothing is going to come easy. Chicago is one of those teams that could have lost every game in April and you’d still be scared because they’ve been there so many times now and you know what they look like if they find their game.

Nothing ever worth the effort is easy though. At this stage, the Blues need to go through Chicago and they need to do it now. Beating another team and then playing Chicago only allows doubt to creep in while waiting. The Blues are in a prime position to finally slay their dragon and do it at the beginning of their quest.

Fans, quite rightly, are still nervous.

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Home ice advantage doesn’t mean much between these two teams and perhaps is even less like home ice with the number of ‘Hawks fans in St. Louis.

But this is probably the Blues best chance they’ve had in years. For once having two goaltenders is seeming like a good thing rather than a divisive topic. While David Backes and Allen are still somewhat questionable, the rumblings are that they’ll be ready.

Vladimir Tarasenko is firing on all cylinders. He scored points in eight straight games to end the year and 14 of his last 17. The Blues have enough offensive depth to take some pressure off him as well, so a hot Tarasenko is going to have more room to play as well.

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It’s time. It’s time for the playoffs to begin and for the Blues to get over the hump. It’s time for the Blues to heed their general manager’s words and “take the knife and jam it through their eye and into their brain and kill them.”

It’s time for the St. Louis Blues to slay their dragons, whether it be the Blackhawks or their own faults, and ascend to a higher level of playoff team.

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