The St. Louis Blues are getting ready to play the Chicago Blackhawks in game one of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's going to be Corey Crawford in net against Ryan Miller.
All eyes are on the Blues as they are finally getting bodies back from injury. From all the players who missed the final game of the season, only T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund will be missing from the line up tonight.
Vladimir Tarasenko might be the most surprising player returning, as he wasn't even expected to be re-evaluated until after the first round of the playoffs. David Backes, Vladimir Sobotka, Brendan Morrow, Barret Jackman, and Alex Pietrangelo are all back from injury as well.
Jordan Leopold will also jump back into the line up, taking the place of Carlo Colaiacovo. He'll be paired with Roman Polak. The projected lineups for tonight's game are below;
Steve Ott - David Backes - Alexander Steen Jaden Schwartz - Vladimir Sobotka - Vladimir Tarasenko Brendan Morrow - Derek Roy - Ryan Reaves Chris Porter - Maxim Lapierre - Adam Cracknell
Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietraneglo Barret Jackman - Kevin Shattenkirk Jordan Leopold - Roman Polak
Ryan Miller
Chicago Blackhawks
Brandon Saad - Jonathan Toews - Kris Versteeg Patrick Sharp - Michal Handzus - Marian Hossa Brian Bickell - Andrew Shaw - Patrick Kane Brandon Bollig - Marcus Kruger - Ben Smith
Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook Niklas Hjalmarsson - Johnny Oduya Michal Rozsival - Nick Leddy
Corey Crawford
The Blues are certainly the underdog in this series, with the majority of NHL analyst and fans picking Chicago to win the series. But there is one funny aspect about these so called experts all look at the Blues losing streak at the end of the season. They all focus on the players injured, yet they don't talk about who is coming back for the Blues.
When they talk about the injuries to Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, they all point out that they are expected to play in game one. Yet they talk about the injuries to Backes, Tarasenko, Sobotka, Oshie, and Pietrangelo but they never talk about the players actually returning to the line up.
One has to hope that the Blackhawks are underestimating the Blues, much like the "experts" are. If so, the Blues have a strong opportunity to take the Hawks by surprise.
If the Blues can come out and jump on the Hawks early, and potting a goal or two, they could really grab hold of the momentum and take a hold of the series early on. It's certainly not going to be an easy task for either team to eliminate the other. This is going to be a very hard fought series between two bitter rivals, and it's going to be very entertaining.
Jake Allen Earns AHL Honors
Blues goalie prospect, Jake Allen, has been named AHL Goalie Of The Year.
Allen played 51 games for the Chicago Wolves this season, going 32-16-3 on the year, with a 2.07 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Many expect him to be the back-up goaltender next season with the Blues, as he's going to be on a one-way contract.