St. Louis Blues Don’t Face Must-Win Scenario, Must Play Like It Though

The St. Louis Blues are not in a scenario where they must win just yet. Playing like they are at that point might help them get into playoff mode.

One of the things the St. Louis Blues did best en route to the 2019 Stanley Cup was put a poor performance out of their mind. Whether it was Jordan Binnington forgetting about allowing a ton of goals or the entire team getting their act together, the Blues always seemed to rebound from one game to the next.

Blues fans are hoping, if nothing else, that has carried over from one season to the next. We have yet to see what most would consider the “real” Blues since the return to play.

While the team was better in certain aspects, they were still not what fans would expect in Game 1 against Vancouver. Having a rebound game would certainly be a nice change of pace.

The Blues are not in a true must-win scenario just yet. There have been plenty of playoff series where the Blues lost two games and came back to tie it, and vice versa.

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Nevertheless, given what we have seen from both teams through 60 minutes of play, the Blues would be better off playing like they must win now and not later. Vancouver looked fresher, hungrier, faster and feistier.

St. Louis started turning the physicality up a bit as Game 1 wore on, but you have to win games to be able to wear a team down or else they just win the series quickly and have a few bruises.

The Blues backs are not up against the wall, but they need to play as if they were. You don’t want to go out there with reckless abandon, but play like it is a playoff game.

That might be difficult for some, especially those that actually know what the experience of playing in front of rabid playoff fans is like. Just last night (August 13) Tukka Rask of the Boston Bruins told the media these feel like exhibition games because there is no crowd.

Maybe, subconsciously, that is holding the Blues back too. Boston and St. Louis, last year’s Cup finalists, have both looked poor since returning. Perhaps, once you get a taste of that Cup atmosphere it really is difficult to adjust to this new scenario.

Whatever the case, the Blues need to get things going. Vancouver might have barely made the playoffs or just missed in a normal scenario, but the NHL has plenty of eighth seeds that won the entire thing.

Vancouver has talent, they have youth, which will not be distracted without the media buzz, and they have goaltending. You cannot let a team like that get too much momentum. Tampa Bay found that out last season.

“In the playoffs, you’ve got to move on from things. You can’t dwell on a loss or think about a win too much. You’ve got to move on,” Craig Berube said, reported by Chris Pinkert on the team website. “It’s a new game (Friday). We’ve just got to play a little bit better. Going into the third period (in Game 1), I thought we carried the play. We made a few mistakes as we’ve been doing in some of these games, and it cost us. We’ve got to clean that up.”

Roster tweaks?

The Blues were without the services of Alex Steen and Sammy Blais in Game 1, due to injury or wellness concerns. We have no idea which, though injury is more likely.

Ivan Barbashev was still out due to the birth of his new baby. He may be back in Edmonton by the time this game starts, but he will not be available until he has four, consecutive negative tests.

According to multiple sources, both Steen and Blais skated with the team on Thursday, indicating they might be close to a return. With no morning skate being held by the Blues, they will be a gametime decision.

Steen would likely return to the fourth line, probably taking Jacob de La Rose out. Blais could either be put on the third line, moving Oskar Sundqvist down, or the Blues might leave Sundqvist up and have Blais on the fourth line.

Putting Sundqvist on the fourth line makes more sense to me, given he’s a true center. We will have to wait until the pregame warmups to find out whether anyone is actually getting a spot in the lineup.

Rebounding

As mentioned above, the Blues had a knack for rebounding from poor games in the 2019 playoffs. They lost Game 1 against both Boston and San Jose and bounced back nicely.

Giving more hope to a bounceback performance, Binnington was 8-2 after a loss in last year’s playoffs. His stats were stellar too, putting up a 1.78 goals against and .937 save percentage in those games (thank you to Chris Pinkert for those stats)

Where to watch/listen

Watch

FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO, NHL Network

Listen

101 ESPN, NHL App

Prediction

As far as predictions go, I’ve been as bad as the Blues lately. Maybe I’m too much of a homer to predict a loss.

With that said, I do think the Blues finally get over the hump in this game. However, I have a feeling the game will not be that close no matter who wins.

Whether the Blues or Vancouver wins, I see a 4-1 finish.