The St. Louis Blues take on the Carolina Hurricanes this evening. It is a chance to turn around both a losing streak and poor play against the Eastern Conference.
When you are the top team in a conference, nothing is ever really as bad as it might seem. So, despite a 9-6-4 record, the St. Louis Blues have not been absolutely terrible against the Eastern Conference.
That said, we grew accustomed to them dominating the east over the last few seasons. St. Louis felt almost invincible, dropping the occasional game, but normally taking maximum points.
This season has been slightly different. Perhaps it is the Stanley Cup that will do that, increasing your focus against teams you know you will likely face in the playoffs.
Now, the Blues have an opportunity to get that record back to, basically, .500. A bunch of jerks stand in their way.
The name has stuck, but the Carolina Hurricanes that stand before us are not the exact same team that was given the moniker by Don Cherry. Nevertheless, Carolina will be no easy opponent as they are scraping and clawing for that final playoff spot.
It will also be a game of firsts for two former players. This will be the first game back in St. Louis for Joel Edmundson and the first game against his former team for Justin Faulk.
Edmundson will be given his championship ring. The team was classy enough to fly his parents in for the occasion.
How They Stack Up
The Blues, despite their recent woes, are still on top of the Western Conference. They lead the Dallas Stars by six points for the division and lead the Vancouver Canucks by five points for the conference.
St. Louis is 31-14-8. They have 168 goals and 150 given up, though that goals against number was not quite as high just prior to the All-Star Break.
The Blues have given up four or more goals in five of the last six games. Not coincidentally, they have lost five of their last six games.
For their part, Carolina is 30-19-3, but 15-4-2 against the Western Conference. Interestingly enough, if the Hurricanes played in either of the Western Conference divisions, they would have a guaranteed playoff spot. Instead, they are tied on points with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but sit one point out of a playoff spot.
Most of the matchups with Carolina have ended in splits in recent years. 2017-18 was the last time the Blues won both games and it was 2014-15 before that.
Most of the time, in recent history, it has been the home team winning, so the Blues should be in good shape. 2015-16 and 2016-17 have been the only departures last decade where there was a home and home split and the home team lost each time.
As mentioned, this will be the first time for Faulk and Edmundson against their former teams. Faulk was with Carolina for eight seasons. Edmundson spent four with the Blues.
Projected Lineup
Here is the lineup form the team website:
Forwards
Sanford – O’Reilly – Perron
Schwartz – Schenn – Thomas
Steen – Bozak – Kyrou
Blais – Barbashev – Brouwer
Defense
Gunnarsson – Pietrangelo
Bouwmeester – Parayko
Dunn – Faulk
Goalie
Binnington
I get the need to shake up the lines but I’m not sure about some of these. Bozak and Thomas have been great together and now they’re split.
Faulk and Dunn together seems like a disaster. In Berube we trust though.
Prediction
I actually had the score right of the Blues last game, just with the wrong team winning…that is until some empty net goals were scored.
However, despite my lack of success picking games (thus the reason I do not gamble), I keep trying.
St. Louis’ recent slide has given all Blues fans pause about what the rest of this season holds. Did they just put the Cup hangover off longer than most teams?
I think it is just a lack of motivation. The Blues have not mathematically locked up a playoff spot yet, but they know they are in. Despite us wanting them to have home ice advantage, they showed last season they do not have to have it. Subconsciously, I think they are conserving energy, though none would ever admit it.
Despite Carolina’s stellar play against the west and the Blues recent slide, I think being at home will energize St. Louis. They have done well at home this season, feeding off the energy in the crowd.
So, I think the Blues turn things around, for at least a game, and win this one. Blues over the Canes 4-2.