3 upcoming games the St. Louis Blues must win to keep their playoff hopes alive
The St. Louis Blues have 10 games to catch either the Nashville Predators or the Vegas Golden Knights, so you can argue each upcoming matchup is a must-win.
Sitting six points outside the wild card, every game is important for the St. Louis Blues from now until the final horn sounds in the season finale against the Dallas Stars. While that final matchup in Dallas could decide everything, there are three pivotal games coming up over roughly the next two weeks that the Blues must win if they remain in contention throughout that span.
Sure, being six points (and at least three wins) outside of the wild card means there is no such thing as an unimportant game left on the schedule, but the Blues also have some favorable matchups coming up. Over the next few weeks, they will face the Calgary Flames, the San Jose Sharks (twice), the Anaheim Ducks, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Seattle Kraken.
Given the way St. Louis has played lately, there is no reason this team shouldn’t win most of the above games. So, let’s assume that is the case, and they finish a solid 4-1-1, good for nine points, which will give them 89 total.
St. Louis Blues can keep playoff hopes alive by…
Beating most of the teams they are supposed to beat is just one half of the equation, as the Blues have four games against three upcoming opponents that will definitely be in the playoffs and one that will most likely reach the postseason. Now, the record listed above, or even if they went 3-2-1 or 3-1-2, and if Vegas and Nashville sustain a late-season tumble, should at least keep them on the outside looking in.
The season finale against Dallas would already be a must-win, but so will the following three games against some of the league’s toughest groups. Should the Blues lose the matchups listed below, then if they wanted to even think about reaching the playoffs, they better finish 6-0-0 against those teams who will definitely be watching the postseason.
The Blues must take advantage of their home ice vs. the Oilers on April 1st
Nobody has been tougher to beat since November than the Edmonton Oilers, thanks to Kris Knoblauch coming in and changing the team’s culture. No team in the NHL has a greater points per game output than Edmonton, and only the Florida Panthers have earned more, albeit the Oilers having two games in hand, which gives them the overall edge.
Luckily for the Blues, they have earned three out of a possible four points so far this season when they played Edmonton. The first occurred on February 15th in a 6-3 win. This was a huge plus for St. Louis, as the rest of the month was not kind to them.
Following their win at home, St. Louis improved to 29-22-2, good for 60 points, but they also went 1-4-0 over most of the following two weeks. They faced the Oilers again on February 28th, looking to get back on track and taking a point in what was an overtime loss.
The point didn’t boost their momentum, as the Blues went 2-3-0 to begin March, but they are 6–1-1 since. If they can keep up their winning ways for the rest of the month and beat Edmonton when they see them for the last time this season on April 1st, they will still have a good chance for a postseason run.
St. Louis must parlay their momentum in an April 4th matchup against Nashville
Let’s assume the Blues at least finish March 2024 with a 1-0-1 record and beat the Oilers. Their next matchup on the road against the Predators just became that much more important regarding their playoff chances.
Nobody in the NHL has enjoyed a better stretch of games this season than Nashville, not even Edmonton, despite the latter’s 16-game winning streak. The Predators have gone, between February 1st and March 27th, 17-2-2, good for 36 points. Since their last regulation loss on February 15th, the Predators are 16-0-2, good for 34 points and an unprecedented 18-game points streak.
That streak could come to an end before the two teams face off, as the Preds will face the Colorado Avalanche and the Boston Bruins following a game on the 28th against the Arizona Coyotes. Should Nashville lose in regulation during that stretch and the Blues ride into the game with momentum, perhaps there is an upset in the making.
Unfortunately for the Blues, Nashville has dominated the season series, winning both games in regulation by a combined score of 13-5. Momentum will play a huge role in this game, but the Blues must figure out a way to beat their Central Division rival if they hope to remain in the thick of the playoff race beyond this point.
Their matchup vs. the Hurricanes on April 12th could decide the season
If St. Louis can’t beat Nashville for the first time this season, this April 12th matchup vs. the Carolina Hurricanes may not matter. Further, the Blues will need the Vegas Golden Knights to stumble at some point between the Nashville and Carolina games, regardless of what they do against the Predators.
They also need to win the three games following their matchup against Nashville or at least finish 2-0-1 in those matchups against San Jose, Anaheim, and Chicago to keep their postseason hopes alive. Mind you, the Blues must win the two contests discussed on the previous slides, barring a major slip-up from Vegas, so there is a lot that must happen for this April 12th game to matter.
But let’s speculate and assume all the above occurs in the Blues favor, and to make those final two contests vs. the Seattle Kraken and against Dallas important, they must win this second game against the Hurricanes.
Carolina is one of the best overall teams in hockey, so like the Edmonton and Nashville games, this matchup won’t be easy, and it could, by the time April 12th rolls around, be the hardest of the trio.
Although the Hurricanes are a stronger bunch this time around, St. Louis beat them once already in a shootout back on January 6th. If it happens again, St. Louis’ late-season run could be well worth it. If they make it this far and fail, well, all the recent winning could hurt this team in terms of draft position. But if you feel you can make a playoff run in this league, you take that chance.
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(Statistics and data provided by ESPN.com)