Blues want more

Four of the five Midwest (USA) based teams qualified for the NHL post season, but one round in only the St. Louis Blues remain.

The Blues finally scratched ‘Beat the #$@&^ Chicago BlackHawks‘ off of its bucket list in the opening round and it is hoped the team is not satisfied as it has a legitimate shot at a long playoff run.

The Blues have struggled with the same issue as most of the other teams in the Central Division as it finished at or near the top of the Division standings in each of the past 3-4 seasons, but couldn’t convert it into playoff success as it more often than not ran into the BlackHawks at some point.

The team didn’t necessarily sit around patiently in the past — the Trade Deadline pickup of Ryan Miller a few years back and last summer’s deal of T.J. Oshie for Troy Brouwer (who by the way scored a huge goal in the Game Seven win against the BlackHawks) were both moves made in hopes of being able to take the next step in the post season.

So, the Blues have finally killed the beast that has blocked the road to success. Are they satisfied? Let’s hope not.

The Dallas Stars (50-23-9 — 109 points) pushed its way from a non-playoff team to the Central Division leader this season, edging the Blues (49-24-9 –107 points) by two points in the final standings and as a result, Texas will be the primary homefront in this series. It should be an interesting series as neither team has many players that have experienced long playoff runs but they were clearly the top two teams in the Division, heck, the Western Conference, this season.

While the Blues found a way past the BlackHawks in seven hard-fought battles, the Stars received a tough push back from Stars as well and it could be said, a controversial disallowed goal was the only thing that prevented this series from going the distance as well.

Word on sports broadcasts and around water coolers was that the seventh game victory went a long way to saving the job of Head Coach Ken Hitchcock as well as perhaps a major shakeup on the team. Who knows if that was true? Or if the team is now in the clear. A quick exit against the Stars would be almost equally as embarrassing for the club and the incentive that this division has produced the Stanley Cup winner in three of the past five years has to be a strong incentive as well.

Here is a quick look at some different factors heading into the series opener on Friday (April 29).

Head to Head: The Stars and Blues met five times this season and the Blues captured wins in four of those games — although three of them came in either overtime or shootout. The teams met three times in December, the first a 3-0 shutout for the Blues at the Scottrade Center and the other two a split in a home and away set following the Christmas Break. The Blues took the first one 3-2 in a shootout Dec. 26 on home ice and the following day back in Dallas it was the Stars taking a 3-0 shutout win.

The final pair were both Blues wins in in overtime — 2-1 at home on Feb. 16 and 5-4 in Dallas on March 12.

Offense: The Stars boasted two of the league’s biggest shooters this season. Jamie Benn, 26 racked up 41 goals and 48 assists and appeared in all 82 games for the Blues this season, his 89 points second to only Patrick Kane‘s 106. Benn has stayed hot in the post season, adding another 10 points (4g, 6a) in six games so far.

Tyler Seguin missed 10 games but still put up a solid 33 goals and 40 assists in the regular season but he has appeared in just one pointless post season game so far. He was itching to get back on the ice since the start of the playoffs, pronouncing himself ready at the end of the season, but aggravated the Achilles injury in the game played last series. He could return in this series, but likely not until at least game three.

Jason Spezza is a veteran with playoff experience and he put up 63 (33g, 30a) assists in the regular season. He has added another nine points (4g, 5a) in six playoff games and while he has never won a Stanley Cup, he has played in a Final Series and would love to get his name on the Cup. At age 32, he is playing with at least a little desperation to accomplish that.

Patrick Sharp has three Stanley Cup rings and the veteran put up 55 points (20g, 35a) for the Blues this past season. He has already added another four (3g, 1a) so far in the playoffs. During the regular season the Stars got plenty of help from the blue line including Johan Klingburg who put up 58 points (10g, 38a) and there are plenty of other players that can generate offense as well.

Vladimir Tarasenko led the Blues in scoring this season and likely will for many more seasons. The 24-year-old right winger notched 74 points in 80 and his 40 goals was fourth best in the league, behind only Alex Ovechkin, Kane and Benn. Jaden Schwartz, 23, is enjoying a great playoff run so far as well. Injury sidelined him for more than half of the regular season but he managed to collect 22 points (8g, 4a) and he is hitting his stride in the post season with seven points (4g, 3a) in seven games so far.

Alex Steen, 32, collected 52 points (17g, 35a) in 67 regular season contests and he is a veteran threat but so far has been limited to a goal and two assists through the first round. Another veteran David Backes is always an imposing figure in front of the net. The 31-year-old center put up 45 points (24g, 21a) in 79 regular season games and added two goals and two helpers against the BlackHawks. Rookie Robby Fabbri, 20 enjoyed a great first NHL campaign and has moved that success into the playoffs with five points (1g, 4a) against the Hawks.

On the blue line there is plenty of offense as well with Alex Pietrangelo, 26, contributing six points (1g, 5a) already and Kevin Shattenkirk chipping in a goal and three assists.

The Stars led the league in scoring this season with 267 goals, 37 more than it allowed while the Blues put up 224, which was 23 more than it allowed. The Stars certainly have the more potent scorers overall, but the Blues appear to possibly be a little deeper which could be a factor if top lines cancel each other out as sometimes happens in a playoff series.

Defense: It starts between the pipes and the Blues have one of the best in the league statistically this season with Brian Elliott. He started 38 games this season and appeared in four others, winning 23 and losing just eight in regulation (another six in extra time. He stopped 1,035 of 1,113 shots this season and led the league with a .930 Save Percentage. His 2.07 Goals Against Average was even with John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks and behind only Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning at 2.06.

Elliott also played all seven games against the Hawks, stopping 236 of 254, keeping his Save Percentage at 9.29 while his Goals Against Average went up a pit to 2.40.

Jake Allen, 25 is the other half of the St. Louis Blues tandem and he was a key player during the regular season due to a knee injury to Elliott. Allen started 44 games, with a record of 26-15-3 and he handled 1,159 of 1,260 shots for a .920 Save Percentage and a Goals Against Average of 2.35. Elliott got the call to start against the BlackHawks due to Allen’s lower body injury, but Allen appears ready to go as well now.

The Stars’ biggest area to address last season was in goal where the team was ranked among the worst in the league. adding Antii Niemi, a 32-year-old veteran from San Jose who backstopped the Chicago BlackHawks to its first Stanley Cup five years ago, gave the team some credibility and may have also inspired another Finn, Kari Lehtonen, also 32, to a return to top form.

Lehtonen appeared in four of the six games against the Wild and he won three of them, stopping 92 of 101 shots for a .911 Save Percentage and a 2.27 Goals Against Average. During the regular season, Lehtonen appeared in 43 games with a .906 Save Percentage and a Goals Against of 2.76. So, his playoff numbers are a little better.

Niemi played in two playoff games and his numbers were not great as he was beaten seven times on 54 shots for a Save Percentage of .870 and a Goals Against Average of 3.36. During the regular season Niemi played in 48 games, with a 2.67 Goals Against and a Save Percentage of .905.

Defensive numbers would appear to favor the Blues, in particular if close checking is the norm as it generally is in the post season. However, don’t count out the Dallas keepers who both have plenty of post season experience.

Special Teams: In the modern NHL this is where games between closely matched teams are generally won and lost. These two teams were both exceptional on both the powerplay and penalty kill. The Stars have a miniscule advantage on the powerplay, having scored 58 times on 262 opportunities for a 22.1 percent rating while the Blues scored 51 out of 237 chances for a 21.5 percent rating. Defensively, the Blues have the edge as one of the best penalty killers in the league, allowing just 41 goals on 276 chances for an awesome 85.1 percent kill rate. The Stars are not far behind though allowing just 44 goals on 248 chances to rate 82.3 percent. At first glance, this seems to be a wash.

Intangibles: During the season, the Blues showed it can win both at home and in Dallas so maybe it gets an edge. Some have said this will be a battle of the Stars’ speed against the Blues’ size. Being that defense and close checking becomes more and more important as the playoffs wear on, maybe that gives the Blues an edge.

Both teams are in relatively new territory — at least for the team’s themselves. The Blues have lost in the opening round of the post season in each of the previous three seasons and has not gone beyond the second round since 2001 when it lost the Conference Championship series to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Stars meanwhile have only reached the post season once in the previous seven seasons and haven’t been past the first round since 2008 when it dropped the Conference Championship Series to the Detroit Red Wings.

Either way, the Central Division is getting a new sheriff in the next two weeks.

Listed Below is the Schedule for the Central Division Championship Series between the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars

Game 1 — Friday, April 29 at Dallas American Airlines Center — 7 p.m. CST

Game 2 — Sunday, May 1 at Dallas American Airlines Center — 2 p.m. CST

Game 3 — Tuesday, May 3 at St. Louis Scottrade Center — 8:30 CST

Game 4 — Thursday, May 5 at St. Louis Scottrade Center — 7 p.m. CST

Game 5 (If Necessary) — Sunday, May 7 at Dallas American Airlines Center — TBA

Game 6 (If Necessary — Monday, May 9 at St. Louis Scottrade Center — TBA

Game 7 (If Necessary) — Wednesday, May 11 at Dallas American Airlines Arena — TBA