Round 1 : St. Louis v Chicago

[sseagle]

Here's the one.. Times/Tv to be added as uncovered. All times Central/US TV providers.

Wednesday April 13 : Chicago v St. Louis 8:30 NBCSN
Friday April 15 : Chicago v St. Louis 7:00 NBCSN
Sunday April 17 : St. Louis @ Chicago 2:00 NBC
Tuesday April 19 : St. Louis @ Chicago 8:30 NBCSN
Thursday April 21 : Chicago v St. Louis 8:30 NBCSN
Saturday April 23 : St. Louis @ Chicago 7:00 NBC
Monday April 25 : Chicago v St. Louis TBA TBA

[gaijin]

Oh yeah. Too bad the best matchup of the playoffs is happening in the first round.

[glen a richter]

Break the curse!

Blues in 7

[dmiles2186]

The Prodigal Son returns! Welcome back sseagle.

[fargoblues]

Secord sucks. Blues in 6. That is all.

[ComradeT]

Secord sucks. Blues in 6. That is all.

HE'S ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SteveO]

No weekend games in StL.

Bah.

[theohall]

Good to see Blues fans don't have to worry about overlapping coverage on the NBC networks due to earlier games until Game 4 when TBL and DET are on NBCSN at 7 ET while the Blues-Blackhawks start at 9:30 ET. No earlier game on the same channel for games 1 through 3. That was a pain in the butt last season having to set the DVR to multiple channels to be certain to get the whole game.

[Kerfuffle]

I hate 8:30pm games - too late of a start. Wish the league would change that - I know it's done to fit in 2 games but still on a work night with a playoff game possibly going to OT can make for a long evening.

[dmiles2186]

Secord sucks. Blues in 6. That is all.

The Second Prodigal Son has returned!

[sseagle]

Secord sucks. Blues in 6. That is all.

The Second Prodigal Son has returned!

Don't piss your pants, act like you've been here before.
RIP Fargo

[midgensa]

Long time lurker and rare poster here ... but can you fellas please assure me ...

This is the year ... right? We are going to beat the Blackhawks! Right?

I am an avid sports fan, but there is NOTHING like playoff hockey, it would be nice to experience it for a year without the heartbreak at the end.

[theohall]

Long time lurker and rare poster here ... but can you fellas please assure me ...

This is the year ... right? We are going to beat the Blackhawks! Right?

I am an avid sports fan, but there is NOTHING like playoff hockey, it would be nice to experience it for a year without the heartbreak at the end.

1) Defense is better than last season thanks to the new blood in Parayko and Edmundson. Parayko in almost any other year would be top ROY candidate. Edmundson has improved all season and no longer looks like a rookie since they paired him with Pietrangelo when Bouwmeester was out.

2) Goaltending is solid no matter what some morons might say elsewhere. Elliott finished tied for 2nd in GAA (would have been first without that horrible Caps game to end the season) and 1st in Save Percentage. Meanwhile, Allen tied for 2nd in shutouts. Assuming Allen is fine, the Blues have an outstanding starter in Elliott and a starting caliber backup in Allen. This is the year Elliott gets the reins from the word go, finally.

3) Scoring: Opening the season, Blues were scoring 4 goals per game until the injuries hit. Once Schwartz returned, that same 3+ goals per game continued, even without Steen, through the end of the season. If that scoring carries over, which has been the issue since Hitchcock took over - lack of playoff scoring, the Blues should beat the Blackhawks in the first round.

IMO, the only thing which could hold the Blues back - Hitchcock not trusting everyone to play by relying too much on Pietrangelo and Bouwmeester while not playing Parayko enough, and over-reliance on 4th line players which would be the case when Ott returns. Fabbri deserves more ice time than 4th liners and sometimes he got it later in the season. That needs to be the undoubted case in the playoffs.

[Toasted Oates]

IMO, the only thing which could hold the Blues back - Hitchcock not trusting everyone to play by relying too much on Pietrangelo and Bouwmeester while not playing Parayko enough, and over-reliance on 4th line players which would be the case when Ott returns. Fabbri deserves more ice time than 4th liners and sometimes he got it later in the season. That needs to be the undoubted case in the playoffs.

This is the only thing that "scares" me about this series. 27 & 19 were paired together in practice today, which could always change, but still. Hitchcock has been forced to let guys spread their wings due to injury. If he can stay out of the way, the Blues can certainly beat Chicago.

Should be quite a show.

[WaukeeBlues]

My heart was absolutely shattered last year when this team lost to the Wild in 6 and I don't think anything will be different this go around.

Blackhawks in 6.

Game 1: Blues 4 Blackhawks 3 (OT)
Game 2: Blues 2 Blackhawks 1
Game 3: Blues 2 Blackhawks 5
Game 4: Blues 1 Blackhawks 2 (OT)
Game 5: Blues 0 Blackhawks 2
Game 6: Blues 1 Blackhawks 7

I have never been less excited about the Stanley Cup playoffs in my life as I am this year. I'm actually dreading it to be perfectly honest. But for fairness I'll argue both sides. I'll start with what I believe will happen and end with what I hope will happen.

Why the Blues will Lose

(1) Not enough changes have been made. By and large it's the same group back again as last year. Our goalie, our top 6, our top 4 and our coach are virtually identical to the team that lost last year. Why is there any reason to believe this year's team will be any different? I don't buy for one second that Hitchcock has suddenly and miraculously changed his coaching style or can get more out of this team this playoff season than they did against a team last season that was far less talented and experienced than the Blackhawks. Which brings me to...

(2) It's the Blackhawks. They win. It's what they do. Especially against rivals and especially in the playoffs. The streaks entering the playoffs mean virtually nothing. All 16 teams get to push the restart button and it's a completely new season. Doesn't matter the Hawks are stumbling into the playoffs, doesn't matter that the Blues are coming in (relatively) hot. More than any other western conference team, I didn't want to have to see the Blackhawks in the first round. Oh well. The march to the guillotine begins again.

Why the Blues could win

(1) Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews both tear a tendon in game 1.

(2) Maybe, just maybe, the Blackhawks are getting burned out. We saw it with the Kings last season, when you play as much postseason hockey as often as these guys have you would HAVE to think it could start to catch up to you sooner or later.

(3) Revenge factor. About the only positive to playing the defending champs in the first round is that the Blues should be seeing red with this series in a different way than if they were facing, say, the Predators. They'll be more motivated than against virtually any other team in the western conference to win this series.

(4) The new blood might be enough. There just might be enough new blood in the locker room and on the ice that haven't been tainted enough yet by the rest of this team's inferiority complex that it might actually snap the top goalie, top 6 and top 4 out of their habits of losing.

Like I said... never been less excited for playoff hockey in all my life, the Hawks are going to run the table, again, and the Blues might win a game or two but it'll be another short playoff run.

Hawks in 6

[Oaklandblue]

We give up offense for a system that gives us solid D and not enough flexibility to score goals. Netminding has been fine and if Ells starts, he will carry, but these boys have to score because the system they play is antiquated and does nothing more than to tire them down and, if their opponent stays on their game, opens up opportunities for them to score, which they take.

These aren't the Hawks of last year, but they have one thing we don't: An extra gear. For us to take this series, the kids have to step up and do some real damage, they really are the key to us winning. With that said, Hawks in 6.

[theohall]

We give up offense for a system that gives us solid D and not enough flexibility to score goals. Netminding has been fine and if Ells starts, he will carry, but these boys have to score because the system they play is antiquated and does nothing more than to tire them down and, if their opponent stays on their game, opens up opportunities for them to score, which they take.

This is no longer true. This year the Blues gave up more shots than ever under Hitchcock because they stopped sacrificing offensive opportunity for defense and put more emphasis on relying on defenseman alone to stop opposing zone entries while allowing forwards to focus on getting into offensive position first while also giving an automatic go sign to any rushing defenseman if he was in front of a forward and the Blues had clear possession. The Blues led the league in offensive zone entries from the defense this season.

[Oaklandblue]

We give up offense for a system that gives us solid D and not enough flexibility to score goals. Netminding has been fine and if Ells starts, he will carry, but these boys have to score because the system they play is antiquated and does nothing more than to tire them down and, if their opponent stays on their game, opens up opportunities for them to score, which they take.

This is no longer true. This year the Blues gave up more shots than ever under Hitchcock because they stopped sacrificing offensive opportunity for defense and put more emphasis on relying on defenseman alone to stop opposing zone entries while allowing forwards to focus on getting into offensive position first while also giving an automatic go sign to any rushing defenseman if he was in front of a forward and the Blues had clear possession. The Blues led the league in offensive zone entries from the defense this season.

We have led the league or been in the top 5 in offense for the last how many years? This is nothing new. When we enter the playoffs, we are not the same team and we lack the ability to go all the way because of the base strategy that Hitch employs. Hitch making an exception to a rule doesn't negate the YEARS of training he has in the majority of these guys. He hasn't changed, he has adjusted because he wants to keep his job. Unless our guys go full bore and he sits on his hands, we are not making it out of the first round.

[theohall]

We shall see.

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk

[glen a richter]

Best case scenario, Blues go all the way, Hitch retires a winner and we get Lowry as HC next season. Really, the love affair between Hitch and Army (plus Stillman's inaction regarding the situation) leads me to believe the objective here is 1 year contracts until Hitch either gets another Cup or dies trying.

This year would be a good time. The injection of youthful exuberance from Parayko, Edmundson and Fabbri should help, Tarasenko still hasn't peaked and there were so many injuries at good times (if there is such a thing) that a lot of bodies are fresh in time for the real season. Is Chicago an easy opponent? Of course not. There are other teams I'd have rather faced in the first round, but you know beating the defending champs goes a long way in boosting morale moving forward. It could be just what the doctor ordered if they can actually get it done.