Good morning Blues fans! There was a goose egg kept up on the board yesterday and while it might not have been on the scoreboard, it was even more important and apropos.
The St. Louis Blues had a heck of an Easter holiday. They hippidy hopped their way to a dominating series lead and did so in fairly impressive fashion.
Now, as with any Easter egg decorating, there were some mess ups. The Blues did not make everything easy and simple.
For the second game in a row, they seemed to settle back into a defensive shell too much after taking the lead. For the third game in a row, they relied on Jake Allen quite a bit.
The main difference was the style of play. The Blues looked like they were going to win right from the start.
In Game 1, St. Louis looked like a Junior team going against NHL players and their goaltender bailed them out. Game 2 was a better effort, but still had too much Minnesota dominance.
Game 3 was Blues from the beginning with a little let off the gas here and there. Minnesota threw a ton of shots on goal, but you didn’t feel that Allen had to be a superhuman to get the victory.
The Blues actually deserved to win. They took the game to the Wild. St. Louis had some actual offensive zone pressure and puck possession.
Those last things were almost unheard of earlier in the series. While NBC was still sucking the teat of the Blues opponent, even Pierre McGuire had to admit that the Blues were frustrating their opponent and doing so purposely.
That was the biggest difference beyond just the Blues playing better. St. Louis was not lucking into denying Minnesota.
The Blues were drawing Minnesota out of their comfort zone, whether through physical play or just blocking shots or altering shooting lanes. The Wild just have no answers right now because even their best has not been good enough to this point.
All of that can change, of course. No lead is completely insurmountable, no matter how bleak things seem. However, the Blues are so in charge of this series right now that to lose would be possibly the low point for this franchise.
No point in thinking about that right now. The Blues gave their fans just about the best Easter present they could have.
While families were hunting for Easter eggs, the Blues kept the egg on the board for the Wild. Anyone who thought St. Louis would be up 3-0 in this series is pretty much a liar.
That’s not a putdown to any fans. However, most NHL series have not even come close to sweeps in recent years. For the Blues to be one of four series that still have the chance to end in a sweep is pretty special.
Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but Blues fans really had a nice holiday. A sweep would be fantastic, but at this point we all just want the Blues to finish things off and move forward.
Here are your St. Louis Blues Morning Links to get your day started off right.
The Blues knew most people did not necessarily give them much of a chance. Despite their successes, they are not counting their chickens before they are hatched and know they have more work to do. (STLToday)
Being part of that special group, we all know that Blues fans are the absolute best. For the team to recognize it too is always special. As an added bonus, my own father was briefly sighted at the 1:17 mark of this well put together video to honor the Blues fan base. (Rams Wire)
The Blues future is bright. Not only do they have guys stepping up right now, but they have a plethora of guys doing it in the AHL. After winning the Central Division, the Wolves will now meet a familiar foe once the playoffs begin. (NBC Chicago)
I try my best to not believe the league cares who wins which series. However, when the league’s own website has an article about the Wild not believing they are down 3-0 instead of more focus on how the Blues are up, it gets a little harder. (NHL)
The NHL has been hit with some rather big injuries this playoff season. First it was Roman Polak, now the Columbus Blue Jackets got hit (quite literally) with a rather gruesome one as Zach Werenski took a puck to the eye. (ESPN)
Have a great day Blues fans!