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Big questions will be answered tonight at 8PM Eastern.
Does St. Louis captain David Backes return from injury before a sold out and likely rabid home crowd?
Does Chicago have momentum now after two home wins, following two near road wins in Games 1 and 2?
Does either matter in a close series where any number of heroes, likely or unlikely, could step up? In each game now of a best 2 out of 3 series, the pressure is on the home team to defend serve and not put themselves in a hole.
But I would argue tonight, the greater pressure is on the Blues. The Hawks do have a bit of momentum, and their two premier stars had their best games of the series in Game 4.
Patrick Kane is a big game player—and he saves his stellar best for the last games of big series. So if the Hawks take Game 5 and return to Chicago up 3-2, the Blues could be in big trouble, with or without Backes.
As for Backes, when he missed Game 4, it became more apparent that he is nursing some kind of injury—most likely post-concussion symptoms, from which he could return any time from tonight to not at all this year.
Though with a loss tonight and a home win on Sunday, the Hawks could force Game 7, tonight is a huge opportunity for them to push the momentum they have and really back the Blues into a corner.
But that's why they play the games. Should be epic.
Back tomorrow,
JJ