The Blues are back in Minnesota for Game 6 without the result that they wanted to go back there with. Another Game 5 playoff loss at home in a 2-2 first round series for the third year in a row pushes the Blues to the brink of elimination on the road. It is Do or Die time for the Blues as they take on the Wild today at 2 p.m. CT and will be aired nationally on NBC.
Game 5 on Friday night in St. Louis ended in a disappointing 4-1 loss in a game that the Blues controlled most of the play. The first period was a continuation of the effort and pressure the Blues showed against the Wild in Game 4. The Blues were creating space and supporting the puck which led to scoring chances and sustained pressure. They killed a big penalty without allowing a shot and drew a powerplay right after. Vladimir Tarasenko converted on the ensuing powerplay on a nice feed across the crease from Alexander Steen. The Blues held the Wild without a shot on goal for the first eleven minutes of the game.
This is where the game changed. Marco Scandella skated the puck down boards and first a pretty harmless slapshot from the outside. Jake Allen had the puck go off the inside of his glove and into the net. Allen has had a great series and it would be hard to blame him for anything that happens in this series so far, but he absolutely cannot let that one past him. One shot, one goal. That’s all the Wild would need to start to get there game going late in the first. Going into the second tied at one being outworked and outplayed had to make the Wild feel pretty good about themselves.
The Wild and Blues scoring chances were pretty even in the second period with the Wild outshooting the Blues 13-6. I will say that the Wild controlled the play for more than half of the second period. They were much harder on the puck and were much better in their transition game. The Blues got caught in their own end and had a stretch of icings that eventually cost the Blues when a lost faceoff resulted in Nino Niedereitter ripped a shot past Allen off the post and in for a 2-1 Wild lead. The Blues were not urgent enough on the next shift after the Wild’s second goal and Kevin Shattenkirk would take an interference penalty by shoving Jason Zucker in front of Allen. After Matt Dumba can completely tackle Steve Ott into the Wild goal just minutes before, I still have no idea how Shattenkirk got called for shall we say, “touching.… Even so, the penalty was called and the Blues didn’t do a good enough job killing it off. Miku Koivu slid the puck across the crease and it went off Jay Bouwmeester’s skate, Jake Allen’s stick, and then the top shelf. 3-1 Wild and the home crowd was silent.
The Blues got back to their game late in the second period and all of the third. Getting pucks deep and working to get them back to create scoring chances. Only problem was, unlike Friday night, no one could finish. Great looks. Missed Nets. Shots in to Dubnyk’s logo. Not good enough.
The Wild may have sat back a little in the third and could be one of the causes of the pressure in the third. Devan Dubnyk played a great bounce back game and really was the different on Friday. The Blues did get a few high quality chances. Steen and Patrik Berglund both had multiple scoring chances with great opportunities to put the puck behind Dubnyk. He was a wall and the Wild did a good job of clearing any loose pucks away from the net. Charlie Coyle would put the fourth Wild goal behind Allen and any shot at a comeback was over. On to Game 6 and a must win.
The Blues will absolutely need everyone’s best game today to keep any Game 7 hopes alive. I believe the Blues deserved a better fate in Game 5 but I have also seen many times over the years that this team can play for 50 minutes or even 55 minutes in a game and still find a way to lose in those other 5-10 minutes. A full effort for sixty minutes, maybe more, will be absolutely key today. Stick to what makes the team successful and support all over the ice. It is time this team finds a way to win a Game 6 on the road to get the series home for a Game 7 where anything can happen. Great teams become great teams from their resiliency. Look at the Kings down 3-0 in the first round to the Sharks last year. One at a time, along with total team efforts and solid goaltending led them back to Game 7 and eventually another Stanley Cup run. It starts with today and today only. This one game can change everything and the Blues need to find a way to get the job done. Outplaying or outworking a team this time of year is great, but Wins are all that matter.