Hello Blues fans! The team is back in action this afternoon and have a daunting task ahead of them if they want to keep playing.
The St. Louis Blues had everything to play for in Game 5. In that one, they had the advantage of home ice.
Perhaps home ice has not always seems like it, especially if you listen to NBC announcers tell how quiet it is in Scottrade Center (sarcasm used). However, it was enough to help the team push through those final moments of the contest.
The crowd was roaring and the team was jumping. After getting the first goal of the game for the first time all series and then a go-ahead score in the third, the Blues had enough in the tank to finish it off.
Now, they need to summon that extra will because they aren’t going to have the roar of the crowd on their side. Perhaps Brett Hull should give the pregame pep talk because he thrived on the road crowd.
He loved to hear the boos and jeers. The ability to silence a crowd with a big goal was sustenance to his soul.
The Blues need that mentality today. They have quite the task in front of them going into the lion’s den in Nashville.
It sounds almost strange to refer to the home of the Predators as some impregnable fortress. Blues fans have typically turned it into Scottrade Center South during the regular season.
Now is a different matter because the Predators have yet to lose on their home ice this playoff season. Making matters worse, the Blues have not won in that building all season.
In fact, the last time St. Louis won in Nashville was over a year ago. February 2, 2016 was the last victory in the Music City and it was a nail bitter at 1-0.
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The Blues have lost by an average margin of two goals in Nashville in 2016-17. They cannot afford to fall behind by that much if they hope to keep playing.
As mentioned earlier this week, the Blues do have a history where they returned from 3-1. They defeated Phoenix and Game 6 was in particularly convincing fashion.
It would be fantastic to win by a 5-3 score and take the heart of the Predators. Unfortunately, Nashville has yet to yield more than two goals in their building in these playoffs. That 5-3 win in 1999 was also at home for that Game 6.
St. Louis is going to have to win a close one. It is not going to be easy on the hearts and stomachs of the fans, but the Blues have to find a way.
The unnerving thing is, even when the Blues have played poorly, they have been in every game. If St. Louis can summon the same overall game from Game 5 or even improve on it, they have every reason to think they’ll win.
Getting that will be the issue. The Blues have yet to really play an excellent 60 minutes.
They’ve won and with good efforts, and lost one with a good effort, but there were still lapses and mental mistakes. The Blues have players playing above their normal station and it is catching up to them.
One more day can be the only mantra right now. Play well and get one more day.
Here are your St. Louis Blues links to get your day going.
We all know Jaden Schwartz is a good player. He joined some big-time favorites in playoff history with his last performance and this date also holds some good luck for the Blues in playoff past. (Blues)
The struggle is real, as they say, when discussing the St. Louis Blues powerplay. Normally a coach will try to find any positive to accentuate, but things have become so bleak, Mike Yeo has basically taken an “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” mentality. (STLToday)
Right now, the Blues are saying all the right things. They know they’re in for a fight in Nashville and, at least through their words, say they are ready for it and relish the chance. (Post-Dispatch)
The St. Louis Blues have had plenty to complain about with the NHL officials. Now, the Edmonton Oilers feel hard done when their series swung the other way based on a non-call (ESPN)
Sidney Crosby returned for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it was not enough to knock off the Washington Capitals. The Caps kept their season alive as their stars came to play. (NHL)
Have a great day Blues fans!