Minnesota Wild

Digging Out in St. Lou
April 16, 2017, 10:31 AM ET [18 Comments]
Dan Wallace
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Wild Game Day
2016-17 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Round 1 Game 3

Series: Blues Lead (2-0)
Game 1: 4/12 Blues 2 @ Wild 1 (OT)
Game 2: 4/14 Blues 2 @ Wild 1
Game 3: 4/16 Today @ St. Louis 2PM
Game 4: 4/19 Wednesday @ St. Louis 8:30PM
Game 5: 4/22 Saturday @ Minnesota TBA (will be necessary)
Game 6: 4/24 Monday @ St. Louis TBA (if necessary)
Game 7: 4/26 Wednesday @ Minnesota TBA (if necessary)

Wild Regular Season Record (49-25-8 106 pts) 2nd Place Central Division, 2nd Place Western Conference
Home Record (27-12-2)
Road Record (22-13-6)

St. Louis Blues Regular Season Record (46-29-7 99 pts) 3rd Place Central Division, 5th Place Western Conference
Home Record (24-12-5)
Road Record (22-17-2)

All-Time Record: Wild vs Blues
vs. St. Louis Blues 33-34-5
@ Home 21-14-2
@ St. Louis 12-20-3

All Time Playoff Record: Wild vs Blues
2015 Wild 4-2


Opponent: St. Louis Blues (32-27-5 69 pts)
Road Record (14-16-1)

Site: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO

Time: 2:00PM CT

TV: NBC (NBC)

Regular Season Results:
10/13 Wild 2 @ Blues 3
11/26 Wild 3 @ Blues 4 (SO)
12/11 Blues 1 @ Wild 3
1/26 Blues 1 @ Wild 5
3/7 Blues 2 @ Wild 1

Mike Yeo has now coached the Blues for three games against the Wild, all in St. Paul, with all three ending in 2-1

We have seen this Yeo movie before, and it never ends well for the Yeo led team.

The series may say St. Louis up two games to none, with the venue switching to Scotttrade, but the games have not favored the team with the lead by any stretch. The Wild need not second guess anything they just need to keep moving forward as they are the better team here.

A win by the Wild today, and it is a series again. No Jake Allen is not in their heads, no Mike Yeo is not the second coming of Scotty Bowman. Of course we all know that if he were he would still be behind the Wild bench and we would be talking about some past parades through the streets of St. Paul.

We are not so let's relax and breathe in and out. Yes, it is a tough hill to climb, but the playoffs are never easy in any sport and the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win bar none. Teams will look down and out and the truly great ones will pick themselves up off of the mat or ice in this case, and get the job done.

The Blues remind me of the pre-lockout NJ Devils, with the approach to defend their goal by clogging the middle of the ice, limiting their opponents high percentage chances, but losing the puck possession game in a big way. The plan is for this stifling defensive approach is to create an offensive chance off a defensive stop and open transition to their counter attack.

It has worked flawlessly in games one and two, and now it is on Bruce Boudreau and his staff to fight through and figure out a way to break through. The best way to do that is to get more bodies going through to the net, get into Jake Allen's grill. It is time to get Chris Stewart in front of the net and to get Ryan White into the lineup for more of the same. Both Stewart and White have got some very good hands for tough guys and can produce goals themselves, but more importantly it should open up the ice in the slot area for higher percentage Wild shots.

The Wild defense has been very active in both games of the series, so if the Wild can create some more high percentage opportunities the active D, should be able to capitalize on some of the juicy rebounds that Allen is sure to dish out.

It is not going to be easy, but going on the road especially in the playoffs can sometimes be the exact medicine a team needs to get it all going. It is not like the Wild are playing awful hockey. They are actually playing fairly well, controlling most of the play. Their problem is the lack of second and third chances, which is kudos of course to the Blues. But let's be perfectly honest, the Blues are not the Scott Stevens led NJ Devils of the 90s and early 2000s.

If there is anyone who knows this of course it is Scott Stevens, himself. He and the Wild coaching staff are now challenged with the task of breaking the Blues and penetrating the middle of the ice.

The odds are not in the Wild's favor but this is not your typical 2-0 series either. The games and series are decided on the ice, and not on paper. The drawing board gets tossed once the puck is dropped. It is up to the players on the ice to battle their way to the tough areas of the ice and to create the space and opportunities to score goals. At the same time take care of their responsibilities in the defensive zone and most importantly the neutral zone, getting and staying on the defensive side of the puck and limiting the Blues puck possession time.

The series is far from over, the Wild will make a statement, they are too good not to.

It's always Hockey Day in the State of Hockey!

Let's Play Hockey!