Good morning Blues fans! Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it and a happy gameday to those that don’t.
While everyone else is hunting for their Easter eggs, Easter brunch or Easter moment of peace while the hoping the kids stop screaming, the St. Louis Blues are hunting for something different. They are on the hunt for an almost insurmountable series lead.
3-0 is not impossible to overcome, but it would be damn close to it. When you take into account that the Blues are very fortunate to even be up 2-0, then it becomes clear how important keeping the momentum could be.
The Blues have gotten into the heads of the Minnesota Wild right now. The players will never admit it and the fans would say that’s a joke.
However, you need look no further than Game 2 for evidence. Minnesota is not a particularly physical team. They were trying to intimidate the Blues with hits and chippy play though.
The Wild were trying to draw the Blues into penalties even though neither team’s powerplay has been that great in this series. Basically, Minnesota was searching for anything that would give them an advantage.
The Wild have only scored on Jake Allen twice in the entire series, so the Snake is in their head as well. If not for Zach Parise, Minnesota would be no better off than Chicago at this stage.
With the series switching venues, the Blues still have no room for error. You cannot give the Wild a glimpse of hope.
The Blues have the series lead, the final line change and can force the matchups they want. None of that guarantees anything, but it gives you small edges that St. Louis must be able to capitalize on.
Victory today would guarantee nothing either. A cornered animal is the most dangerous.
Still, if the Blues win three in a row, it is hard to see Minnesota getting their act together enough to win four in a row. Stranger things have happened, but you make it extremely difficult for the Wild, forcing them to be perfect in every remaining contest.
St. Louis finds themselves in a rather odd predicament. They have taken all the momentum, but there are fans (mostly outside of St. Louis, but some in too) and media saying St. Louis is merely lucky.
If Minnesota wins today, the tide of sentiment will turn against the Blues. That really doesn’t factor in to a player’s mind, but it gets frustrating as a fan.
When your team is up by two games and you know people will say “See! It was all luck” if the Wild steal one, it gets old. Hopefully, the Blues are not concerned with that.
It is terribly cliche, but they need to focus on one game at a time. Pay no attention to what happened in the last two and just win this one as though it is Game 1 – just don’t play like Game 1 please.
Here are your St. Louis Blues Morning Links to get your day started off right.
The entirety of the Blues season seems to be “If you told me…I’d have called you crazy.” That is true of their resurgence and also in the team’s reliance on young guys. If you had told many people that as many as four AHL players would be helping the Blues in the playoffs, most people would have given up but it is true and is working. (STLToday)
The Minnesota Wild are not necessarily an old team, but they have plenty of experience. With that in mind, nobody wearing green and white is ready to hit the panic button yet even in a 2-0 hole. (Post-Dispatch)
Similarly to the Blues, the way the Chicago Wolves began the season, making the playoffs would have been good enough. Instead, they kept their comeback going and added a very nice perk last night with a win. (Wolves)
Next: Jake Allen At The Top Of His Game
Former Blues player Roman Polak was always a fan favorite for his feisty play. It is a bit sad, though, that he can’t catch a break. That became quite literal as he became injured and will miss the playoffs. (NHL)
Despite Pittsburgh dominating most of the play, the series with Columbus has been rather rough. Matt Calvert took that a little too far though and will have to sit a game because of it. (ESPN)
Have a great day Blues fans!