St. Louis Blues: Five Reasons They Win, Five Reasons Minnesota Wins

Mar 7, 2017; Saint Paul, MN, USA; St Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen (34) makes a save in the third period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The St Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2017; Saint Paul, MN, USA; St Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen (34) makes a save in the third period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The St Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
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Apr 6, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Minnesota Wild right wing Nino Niederreiter (22) celebrates with defenseman Nate Prosser (39) and center Eric Staal (12) and left wing Zach Parise (11) after his goal in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. The Wild won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Minnesota Wild right wing Nino Niederreiter (22) celebrates with defenseman Nate Prosser (39) and center Eric Staal (12) and left wing Zach Parise (11) after his goal in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. The Wild won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

A Hard Lineup Top To Bottom

The Minnesota Wild have this year what the Blues had last year, plus more.

Minnesota is hard to stop from top to bottom. They don’t have those big name stars like the Blackhawks or Stars or Sharks have had, but they have solid guys each as capable as the last.

So, while the Blues have proven great at stopping the stars, what do you do if you have a team with no stars? That statement is not meant to disparage any of the Wild players either. It is more an observation.

Eric Staal is a great player with a resurgent year. You wouldn’t see his name drafted in the top portion of many fantasy drafts though.

Granlund and Koivu are very good players, shown by their 127 combined points. They aren’t superstars though.

Jason Pominville is capable of scoring. Even at a slightly advanced age, Zach Parise is still dangerous, especially if you can afford to move him further down a lineup.

Nino Niederreiter has been a thorn for the Blues in the past and had 25 goals this year. In total, the Wild have four guys with 20+ goals and 12 with double digit twine tinglers.

Their blueliners are included in there too. Two Minnesota defensemen had double-digit goals and Ryan Suter had 40 points in a down year with 9 goals.

The Wild are capable of coming at you in waves. The Blues will have to be able to withstand the tsunami that is about to wash over them.