In Thursday’s win over the Winnipeg Jets, the St. Louis Blues showed us all why they deserve to be in the playoffs. Or, they showed it to any remaining doubters. Overall, they played an outstanding game, scoring six times on the NHL’s best goaltender, before adding a seventh goal against Eric Comrie.
So, after letting the first two games slip away from them, the Blues finally took advantage of Hellebuyck’s greatest weakness: The guy struggles when the stakes rise. I talked about this once, but the message didn’t sink in until Thursday, especially for Pavel Buchnevich, who recorded a hat trick.
Case in point, the guy melts down unlike any goaltender in the league. Yeah, it’s great to be a stalwart in the regular season, as you’ll always make your team look good and even win the occasional Presidents’ Trophy. But Hellebuyck’s now logged two bad games in what’s been a three-game series so far, one of which the Blues let slip away from their grasp.
Blues should now know exactly how to beat the Jets - at home and on the road
And to be honest, the Blues should’ve logged more shots on net, giving us just 28 on Thursday. But they took advantage of the power play, they won and kept puck possession, and they stifled Winnipeg’s chances. Still, getting the puck at the net often will always exploit Hellebuyck for the mediocre netminder he’ll always be after the 82-game run that is the NHL regular season.
I mean, at this stage in his career, he’s not changing. And if the Jets are winning the Stanley Cup, it’s safe to say he won’t be the popular choice for the Conn Smythe Trophy. But if the Blues get that number of shots up to the 32-plus range, they should put four-plus goals up against Winnipeg per game, forcing the Jets to outscore them.
And I doubt it would happen with Jordan Binnington in the net. So, the blueprint for the Blues has been unleashed, and now, they only need to get consistent, and that’s the concern I’m facing for Game 4 and at least Game 5. It’s great to see a near-perfect game here, but will a team with such little playoff experience capitalize?
Blues must find a way to get the puck to the net even more in Game 4
If I’m the Blues, I’m changing nothing regarding my game plan just yet. But they should know the Jets will adjust. I’m expecting a more physical opponent the next time the Blues square off with their Central Division rivals, and that will require them to make changes on the fly. Should they adapt, look for another scoring frenzy while Connor Hellebuyck plays another poor game.
If not, then they’re going to make one of the league’s most fringe players in the postseason look like the superstar he is during the regular season. And if that happens, they’ll need to win three straight if they plan on playing in the second round. The good news, of course, is that they’d already won 12 straight this season, so what would be another three?