St. Louis Blues Vs. Vancouver Canucks 3.0: Pregame News And Notes
The St. Louis Blues take on the Vancouver Canucks for the final time this season. The Blues are flying high, but have to keep the wind in their sails
The St. Louis Blues find themselves in an odd position. They have hope and actually have their destiny in their own hands.
All they have to do is keep winning. However, that’s no small feat for this team.
Despite the fact they have been hot, they still give us pause. There are just as many reasons to think they’ll revert to type as opposed to this being the way they actually play. As long as they keep proving us wrong, or right if you’re a constant believer, then they’ll make their playoff push.
One thing they cannot do is underestimate anyone. Of their nine games remaining, five are against teams currently in the playoffs. That means there are four games to trip up on and tonight is one of them.
Vancouver sits in last place in the Pacific Division. They have a lot of good, young talent, but like Edmonton over the past years, it has not come together yet. The Blues are hoping it does not come together tonight and they can claim two more points.
Know Thy Enemy
This is the third game between Vancouver and St. Louis this season. The Canucks tend to play the Blues tough, but tough describes their entire season this year.
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They are currently bottom five in both goals scored and goals allowed – 27th and 29th out of 31 teams. Vancouver got off to a decent start, making people wonder if they were ahead of schedule. The schedule caught up to them quickly and they have not been out of the bottom two in the Pacific for quite some time.
Vancouver comes into tonight with an overall record of 26-39-9. They are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games, however they beat down Chicago 5-2 in their last game.
Brock Boeser is the player to watch for tonight. In his rookie season he has 29 goals and 55 points.
Blues Tidbits
The Blues have dominated this series over the last few years after getting dominated earlier in the decade. The Blues had lost six in a row. Now, they’ve won their last four against Vancouver and seven of the last eight.
The Blues have won both games against Vancouver this season with both being on the road. The first was a 4-3 overtime win and then the Blues won 3-1 the second time around.
St. Louis is riding a three-game winning streak. One more win would tie their longest streak this season.
The Blues might be sore in this game. The 46 hits they threw in the Boston game was the most they’ve had since December 4, 2015 when they nailed the New York Rangers 53 times.
The Blues are hoping to have Vladimir Tarasenko back since he is hot against the Canucks. Some of his teammates have streaks against Vancouver going as well:
– Tarasenko has 10 points in his last 10 games (three goals, seven assists)– Pietrangelo has three points in his last three games (one goal, two assists)– Schenn has a goal in three of his last four games– Steen has nine points in his last 10 games (four goals, five assists)– Kyle Brodziak has six points in his last eight games (five goals, one assist)– Allen is 5-0-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .920 save-percentage in his last six starts
Results around the league are not currently helping the Blues. They are three points out, but Colorado and Anaheim are playing Vegas and Winnipeg tonight. A Blues win could put them within one point of both teams.
St. Louis is currently 40-28-5 with 85 points.
Projected Lineup:
Forwards
Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Vladimir Tarasenko
Patrik Berglund – Kyle Brodziak – Alexander Steen
Dmitrij Jaskin – Vladimir Sobotka – Tage Thompson
Ivan Barbashev – Oskar Sundqvist – Chris Thorburn
Defense
Carl Gunnarsson – Alex Pietrangelo
Vince Dunn – Colton Parayko
Joel Edmundson – Robert Bortuzzo
Goalie
Where To Watch
Television:
Fox Sports Midwest, SportsNet
Streaming:
Fox Sports Go, NHL.tv (subscriber fee)
Radio:
KMOX, KMOX.com, Blues app
Tonight’s game will start at 7 pm Central Time.
Prediction:
Being a college basketball fan, I’m always leary of trying to beat a team for a third time. There are no more surprises and very few wrinkles you can put in the game plan.
That said, if they play to their capabilities, like they have been, there is no reason the Blues should not win this game.
Next: Blues Power Play Has Been Better Without Tarasenko
Vancouver is not a great team and struggles to score goals. The Blues have been scoring well and defending well. Only a hot goaltender on the other side should prevent the Blues from winning, unless they get in their own way, which has happened often this year.
The Blues should still be the better team as long as they believe it and do not underestimate their opponent. Hopefully we can avoid overtime since St. Louis plays again tomorrow. A 4-2 win would be nice with an empty net goal to boot.