St. Louis Blues Need To Win Against Colorado Avalanche
By Todd Panula
The St. Louis Blues have a guaranteed playoff spot waiting for them no matter what happens in the round-robin. They need to win tonight, though.
The St. Louis Blues could go 0-3 in the round-robin portion of this Stanley Cup tournament. They need to find their game, but wins are not completely necessary.
No matter what happens to the Blues in their next three games, they know they’ll still face a team in the first round of the playoffs in a best-of-seven series. That is why some fans and analysts have asked whether the teams in the round-robin phase are going to find that playoff edge like the teams in the qualifying stage.
Despite this assurance of a spot in the playoffs, the Blues can’t just coast along against one of their divisional rivals. In fact, if any game was one the Blues really need to win, it is the one against the Colorado Avalanche.
St. Louis split the season series against the Avalanche, 2-2-0, with the final game canceled due to the pandemic. However, the problem is how much Colorado dominated them in their two wins.
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The Blues won the first two games of the season, both played in St. Louis. St. Louis won 3-1 and 5-2, showing the Avs still had some catching up to do at that time.
Once the games shifted to Denver it was a different story. St. Louis could not stop the Avalanche’s offense to save their lives.
The first game was atrocious, with the Blues losing 7-3. Just 16 days later, the Blues got lit up again, losing 5-3 in that game.
Additionally, the Blues were not that great at stopping Nathan MacKinnon. The star scorer hit the Blues for three goals and eight points.
To put that into perspective, the only teams he scored that many points against other than the Blues was the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks had one of the worst defenses in the conference.
Fortunately, the Blues have Vladimir Tarasenko back. In 31 career games against the Avalanche, Tarasenko has 12 goals and 25 points.
The only teams he has more points against in his career are Chicago and Nashville. If Tarasenko can get his game revved up against the Avalanche, the Blues will be better for it.
This game cannot be listed as a must win, because it isn’t. The Blues can lose and it won’t damage their chances for anything.
But, they need to win it.
Colorado was on pace to overtake the Blues when the pandemic hit. The Avalanche took St. Louis behind the woodshed in the last two games they played.
The Blues need to win this one just to get their mindset in the right spot. They can lose against Vegas and Dallas, but if they beat Colorado, they will have a certain mental edge going into their first round.
Blues broadcasters have it tougher, but not too tough. dark. Next
Even though they would not face Colorado for a round or two in any future matchup, St. Louis needs to reestablish the idea they are still the top dog in the division and conference. The Blues winning against the Avs would do just that, even if only for themselves.
A solid game with a close loss would be acceptable. The Blues need a win, though.