The St. Louis Blues had every reason and excuse behind them if they managed to lose to the Carolina Hurricanes. Instead, they came out strong and held on for a good victory.
The St. Louis Blues had a lot of interesting scenarios heading into their first of two games against the Carolina Hurricanes. There were a lot of things working against them.
First and foremost, they were coming off one of the worst overall performances we have seen from this team in years against Minnesota. The offense was nonexistent, the defense was putrid and the fans were on top of it all.
Then, there was a firestorm of buzz in the fan community. The Chicago Blackhawks stunningly fired Joel Quenneville after ten years and three Stanley Cups.
With so much pressure already on Mike Yeo and fan sentiment building behind him, the wonder was more about whether the Blues could go out and get Quenneville than whether they would win on this night.
So, the Blues had every excuse in their back pocket if they lost. It would have been just another bad game. The distraction of the coaching situation could have bothered them, etc. and so on.
Instead, the Blues came out and weathered an early storm and then made the most of what they had. Their offense was slightly limited, but it looked great when it was on.
Ultimately, it all rounded out for a 4-1 win over Carolina and two points for the Blues.