St. Louis Blues (48-23-7) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (48-24-6) @ 6:30 p.m. CT on NBCSN.
Season Series: This is the fourth of five regular season meetings between the Blues and Hawks. The Hawks have taken two of the first three with the most recent being on February 8th in St. Louis by a score of 4-2. The teams will play again in St. Louis on Thursday.
The Blues wrap up their regular season road schedule tonight in Chicago. They have won two straight and sit one point behind Nashville for first place in the Central. The win on Friday night in Dallas wasn’t even close to textbook Blues hockey but the boys found a way to pull out an important two points. Brian Elliott had a solid first period and an absolutely awful second. One goal was a bad bounce off of Kevin Shattenkirk but the rest of the goals were stoppable. The Blues will now go with Jake Allen in goal tonight. The Schwartz Stastny and Oshie line has really stepped up with the absence of Tarasenko and Steen. Patrik Berglund’s play is heading the way the team needs going into the playoffs and he’s gaining a ton of confidence. It is unclear which Defenseman will sit. I hope Bortuzzo plays and Gunnarsson or Bouwmeester sit. Alexander Steen skated in the optional skate yesterday and it is unconfirmed if he will play or not.
The Hawks come back home after defeating Buffalo on Friday 4-3 in another wild finish. They jumped out to an early 2-0 lead only to let it slip away and let the Sabres take a 3-2 lead in the third. Jonathan Toews scored two quick goals with less than two minutes left to give Chicago the regulation win. It’s that time of year where good teams and top players find a way. The Hawks play had been struggling of late but has really picked up the last few games. They have a ton of skill and efficiency up front and their weakness is their bottom pair on Defense. Not a Corey Crawford fan at all, but he always plays well against the Blues and he has been good lately.
Keys to the Game: Both clubs are coming off of wins that were not pretty in either team’s standards. When these teams meet, records don’t matter, win/loss streaks don’t matter, nothing matters except beating a rival. Regardless of how either the Blues or Hawks are playing, both teams will get up to play. Usually these games end up decided by who made the wrong mistake at the wrong time. That said for the Blues, puck possession and management will be most important in this one. Sloppy turnovers and bad pinches in the neutral zone and offensive blueline will cause oddman rushes and great scoring chances for the Hawks. Defending their stretch pass will be important. The Blues will need to have a shoot first mentality and crash the net for garbage goals. This is one of those important four point games that could catapult either squad towards the division title. Like I said, it’s time for good teams to find a way. I know one thing, I will either be extremely happy or extremely PO’d after this one. Should be a fun one.
Players to Watch: Blues: Jaden Schwartz—Man on a Mission the last few.
Jake Allen—Could he be stealing the show from Brian Elliott?
David Backes—He will be in charge of shutting down the Hawks top line.
Blackhawks: Jonathan Toews—He’s stepped up his play since the loss of Patrick Kane.
Corey Crawford—great numbers against the Blues. Would like to see the Blues get to him early.
Marian Hossa—this guy scares me as much as any Hawk. He can turn it on at any time and he still has a lot left in the tank.