Good morning Blues fans! The Blues take on the Colorado Avalanche again tonight. It’s not the last time, but it’s the last time before the meat.
The St. Louis Blues seem to have gorged themselves on the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche over the last few weeks. Despite that, tonight’s game against the Avs is not the final time we will see the former champions/current cellar-dwellers.
The Blues will also end the season against Colorado. That’s become one of those things that feels like it happens every year, but when researched probably only happened a couple times here or there that stick in your memory.
Nevertheless, it is the final time the Blues will play in the Pepsi Center this season. St. Louis is currently undefeated in three games against Colorado this year.
The Blues have won by an average of 4-1 in those games as well. That’s fairly surprising considering the Avalanche do still have some offensive talent in their arsenal.
The fall of Colorado has been somewhat remarkable. It was only a few, short years ago that Patrick Roy had the Avs atop the Central Division and it looked like they’d be a team to contend with.
Instead, they missed the playoffs the following year and have taken a nose dive since then. It is one thing to go through growing pains, but this is completely different.
It seems a complete departure from when the Blues made the playoffs in 2008-09. St. Louis made the postseason once, missed for two years and then regularly became one of the best in the division and ht eleague.
Colorado does not seem poised to make that kind of run. They have some good pieces at the top, but they seem lost as to how to fill in the rest.
The problem may have been hiring old heroes to key positions. Roy got the team going off the bat, but might not have been the best coach overall or perhaps was not ready for the NHL anyway.
Joe Sakic has yet to really prove that he can handle the GM position. That’s not to say he’s a bad executive, but the team has gone stale under his watch.
From a Blues perspective, this is all well and good. Though going through a down year this year, the Central is still one of the toughest in hockey.
Having Colorado to beat up on a little makes things at least bearable. When you have the cream of the crop at the top of the division, sometimes you need a little easier game.
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As long as that is not the mindset of the players, then everything should run smoothly tonight. The Blues have managed to keep away those evil thoughts of the past that whisper in their ear that the game is easy.
The game is not easy. It’s a hard effort every night and you have to pay it the respect it deserves or even low level teams will bite you. Colorado may be bad, but they’ve still caught 20 teams napping.
Additionally, the Blues need to stay sharp and finish things off tonight. A win, or even a point with results going their way elsewhere, will clinch a playoff spot.
On top of that, the Blues can keep their head above water when it comes to having the choice spot. Right now they are ahead of Nashville by a point and can make that three points. A win will, at the very least, keep them tied on points with Calgary as well in case the Blues slip back into the wild card picture.
That’s why this end of season schedule is so important. The Blues can still give themselves a chance at some home ice, either in the first round or after, if they keep winning.
Here are your St. Louis Blues Morning Links to get your day going.
By now most of you probably heard how there were some cows running loose in the streets of St. Louis on Thursday. What you may not know is that the Blues were involved, well at least their families. Once word got out that these cows were looking to stay alive, some of the animal conscious members of Blues nation reached out to try and save them. (Fox2)
Magnus Paajarvi was one of those guys we had all figured was done. It was part of a failed trade, made worse by the return of David Perron. However, Paajarvi never lost faith in himself and while he can’t figure out what is difference, he knows this is his best NHL hockey to date. (STLToday)
Pro players are usually not one to pat themselves on the back (football players excluded). However, the Blues do have a sense of how great their turnaround has been this year and are pleased with how the team and the individual performances have done a 180. (Post-Dispatch)
Apparently it is all the rage to look overseas for new markets. The NFL has tried it in Europe and is trying it in London. Now, with preseason games and an upcoming Olympics in 2022, the NHL is trying it with possibly THE largest remaining market in the world. (ESPN)
With the season long over for playoff afterthought New Jersey, their all-time leading scorer is calling it quits once the final five games are played out. With his skates still laced, the team is already planning on raising his number to the rafters next year. (NHL)
Have a great day Blues fans!