The St. Louis Blues have been on a strong playoff push as of late, posting a 6-2-2 record in their last 10 games while their last pair of games have seen them dramatically beat two playoff contenders in Anaheim and Colorado. The win against the Ducks, a 6-2 rolling at the Honda Center, came before a dramatic 3-2 win in Colorado, highlighted by Robert Thomas' hat trick, including the go ahead goal with under 3 minutes left in regulation. Now the Blues sit 5 points from a wild card spot, even as a regular playoff berth is out of reach with them 7th in the Central Division and the top 3 teams there already having punched their own playoff tickets.
St Louis does still face a gauntlet in the Central in their next 5 games, starting with a rematch against Colorado scheduled for tonight at 8 pm back at Enterprise Center, when the last meeting was at Ball Arena in Denver this past Sunday. After that, they play Winnipeg, the first team they'll need to one-hop in the Central Division standings to continue their fight for a playoff spot. A visit to already-eliminated Chicago follows, then it's back home to face the Minnesota Wild, a team that's already clinched, sitting 3rd in the Central, on April 13. Going back to Colorado, it was Thomas' first career hat trick, and the Blues will aim to sweep the President's Trophy contending Avalanche, something not easily done, especially by a playoff push team rather than one that's already booked.
St Louis has also tallied 13 wins since the Winter Games in Milan/Cortina wrapped, tied for 2nd in the league behind only the Buffalo Sabres with 14, and they recently clinched their first playoff berth in 15 years thanks to a little help from the eliminated New York Rangers. A total record of 13-3-3 since the Olympic break has definitely made St Louis a legitimate dark horse for these playoffs, and with 6 games to go, including tonight's contest, every point (or two) matters. One of the most impressive things about the Blues as of late, however, is their success despite both their power play and penalty kill ranking in the bottom 5 of the league: 28th for each (17.6 PP%; 74.8% PK%). At least the latter statistic might seem decent on paper, but the league leader in penalty kill is in fact Colorado at 84%. Oddly enough, they aren't the best power play percentage team in the league- that's Edmonton at nearly 30%, while the Avs are astonishingly just two spots above St Louis at a 3-way tie also involving the Washington Capitals.
The Blues' top talents have led by example during this 6-2-2 stretch, despite those obvious losses. Thomas has picked up points in five straight games (five goals, five assists), while LW Dylan Holloway has a six-game point streak (four goals, seven assists). It's also worth noting how St Louis somehow kept league-leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon (51 goals and 71 assists for 122 points) off the scoresheet in Sunday's game (most likely because of the low score), and they'll try to do it again tonight. A win tonight would be welcome for the Blues, as they'd take the season series 2 games to 1, with that one loss back on December 31, a 6-1 shelling in Denver. And oddly enough, MacKinnon scored a hat trick in that game before Thomas returned the favor in the same building. Payback was definitely in the right place that time.