St. Louis Blues Need To Treat Game 4 Like A Game 7

By winning Game 2 of their series against the Dallas Stars, the St. Louis Blues have given themselves some wiggle room. Things can turn on a dime though and the Blues need to treat Game 4 like a must-win scenario.

It sounds a bit outlandish, especially when I consider myself to be pretty middle of the road and calm. However, the St. Louis Blues really do need to treat tonight’s Game 4 like it’s a must-win. The Blues could easily lose tonight and still win the series. However, given the fact they’ve already blown a 3-1 series lead, you want to take as much advantage of home ice as you can. The Blues will not have a potential seventh game at the Scottrade Center. They won’t have the crowd on their side in a real do-or-die scenario. They won’t get that extra little boost, with the exception of those players who have the mental capacity to take pleasure in shutting the other fans up. A series deciding seventh game would be in Dallas this time. So, the Blues need to do everything they can to avoid that scenario. Would it be beneficial for this team to go through more adversity and continue to overcome? You can make that argument from where we sit. From a player’s perspective, that can’t enter into your mind. You don’t need mountains to climb during the playoffs when winning a Stanley Cup is practically Mount Everest. Additionally there are other positives to giving everything to take Game 4 like it’s a must-win. It could potentially be the last game you play at home if you win. The Blues have already proven they can win on the road. They took two game in Chicago in the first round and have stolen a game in Dallas as well. Win tonight and you have a chance to end the series on the road knowing you still have that cushion of another home game to follow. On top of that, we keep hearing there isn’t momentum carried game to game. If that’s true, I’m not sure what you would consider happened with games 5 and 6 in the Chicago series. Even if Chicago didn’t necessarily have positive momentum, the Blues definitely had some negative momentum. Momentum is a tricky thing. It can swing back the other way at the drop of a hat. If the Blues win, it is squarely on their side with wiggle room to have an error or two. You lose Game 4 and then the series shifts back to Dallas, giving them an opportunity to take a 3-2 lead at home. The Blues have yet to really deal with the prospect of elimination other than that seventh game when both teams were under the same microscope.

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You don’t want that to happen in this series. You win Game 4 and you really plant the seed of doubt in the Stars minds as to whether they can win this series. It’s been said before, but bears repeating now. The Blues need to keep the mentality of trying to stick that knife in. Dallas has been without Patrick Eaves and Tyler Seguin in this series. Their team is still good enough to win without them, so it’s not an excuse. You don’t want to give the Stars more opportunities to get those players back though. Let the Stars and their fans deal with that in the offseason. Let them deal with the what ifs and woulda, coulda, shouldas. Keep the cloud hanging over the Stars’ goaltending. Make them realize it doesn’t matter who is in the pipes. Go for the jugular. The St. Louis Blue can’t win the series tonight in terms of literally closing it out, but they can win it mentally by really taking it to the Dallas Stars as though their season depends on it. I’m not even talking about another 6-1 performance. That’s about as unlikely as NBC ever giving the Blues credit without sounding like a back-handed comment. The Stars are going to come. They’re going to push. They’re going to fight. A win by the Blues makes them think that resistance is futile.

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This cannot be a regular season effort by the Blues. Just because you have four potential games left, doesn’t mean you can treat tonight’s game like that. Go hard, block shots, show speed and put forth an effort like your back is against the wall. Do that and the Stars are unlikely to be able to answer. If the Blues treat a game in the middle of the series like a must-win and are successful, it gives them the boost of winning and keeps developing that killer instinct..

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