St. Louis Blues: Top 5 Toughest Games Of 2019-20

Opening Night

First thing’s first, as they say. The St. Louis Blues have a tough thing to deal with right off the bat.

Their very first game of the 2019-20 season pits the defending Stanley Cup champions against the champions of 2017-18. The Washington Capitals are going to be tough and were one of the best during last regular season.

The Capitals finished on top of the Metropolitan Division with 104 points and a record of 48-26-8. Many considered them a strong contender to repeat as champions, but they were shocked in seven games by the Carolina Hurricanes.

2019-20 will be a redemption year for the Capitals. They are going to want to prove, again, they are not just a regular season team and will not choke in the playoffs. One game might not mean everything, but they are going to be motivated to get off on the right foot, especially after a much longer offseason than they expected.

Another factor with this game will be the ceremony. The Blues are going to raise their Stanley Cup banner to the rafters of the Enterprise Center prior to the game.

That means the player’s schedules are thrown out of whack. The actual game will likely not start until 7:30 or after despite a normal scheduled time of 7 pm. That means players sitting on the bench, getting stiff, unfocused on the game at hand.

There is a running joke that pregame ceremonies mean a loss. There is no hard data on that, but any time I have been to a game where a banner was going up or someone was being honored, the Blues either lost or played very flat and snuck a win out.

Thus, this opening night is going to be very difficult. You’re playing a team very capable of winning a Stanley Cup this season and dealing with an extended, emotional ceremony prior to the game.

The building is going to be charged up and, though we hope the team is too, sometimes that can work against you.