The St. Louis Blues are ready to get back at it tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks for game four. They are coming off possibly their best game of the series, which resulted in a 2-0 shutout for Chicago.
Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock was very pleased with the Blues play in game three despite the loss. They will look to rebound tonight with the possible return of David Backes. While there is no specific update on if the Blues captain will play for sure or not, it's a possibility that he could be ready to lace them to play. I would expect him to take warmups, and then depending on how he feels after, will determine if he plays or not.
The Blues will be without forward Brendan Morrow for the rest of this series with a lower body injury. While nothing was specifically announced regarding the injury, one has to think it could be his knee that is bothering him again. If Backes isn't ready to play, and with the loss of Morrow for the rest of the series, we could see Derek Roy inserted back into the line up.
The Hawks aren't going to back down in this series. They are the defending champions and they know how to handle adversity. However the Blues are a team who can take a hold of a series with their fore-check and ability to cycle pucks to the net.
Ryan Miller is also a goalie who can steal a game. Last game he let in a very soft goal. He was visibly frustrated after letting the goal in and he shut it down the rest of the game. The only problem is that the Blues couldn't get a goal past Corey Crawford. Miller made countless saves to keep the Blues in the game, but the Blues offense couldn't answer the bell.
If the Blues can pot two or three goals on Crawford, Miller is more than capable of closing games out for the Blues.
This game could be the swing game in the series. If the Blues win, and go up in the series 3-1, it could really swing momentum into the Blues favor and have the opportunity to win the series on home ice in game five.
If the Hawks in this game, it could really make this series a tough one to win for the Blues. It would tie the series 2-2 and give the Hawks a lot of confidence in the rest of the series.
Be sure to follow me,
@Blues_Buzz, on twitter to keep up with the game and to keep caught up on any roster updates.
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