Minnesota Wild

Wild Blues Series Just Series Heating Up
April 22, 2017, 10:10 AM ET [3 Comments]
Dan Wallace
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Wild Game Day
2016-17 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Round 1 Game 5

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

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

Game 5, do or die game 2 for the Wild. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a war of attrition. A battle of wills, and the story of overcoming major obstacles along the way. Every team that has ever gone on to win the Cup, went through something that brought the players together as a collective unit, working in unison toward the ultimate goal.

There isn't a team that waltzed through the playoffs to win the Cup. So trade deadline moves to bring in the final pieces to make the playoff run more automatic, rarely work out. That does not mean that player transactions don't make teams better, but in order to win, it has more to do with the sacrifices that every player is willing to make, for the benefit of the team. The heart is not measured in statistics.

That is why we watch sports and get so wrapped up in our teams, and the passion grows with each goal and every win. We want nothing more than to see our team win, even uttering the words, & please just once, let my team win.

The Wild are in the fight for their playoff lives. Bruce Boudreau is in a battle to show that he can duplicate his regular season success, when it really matters. The core of this Wild team is looking to take the next step in their own maturation, after four straight playoff early exits.
The odds are surely stacked against them, but it is certainly not impossible. Adversity often draws the best out of teams, bringing them together, in spite of what appears insurmountable odds.

The Wild have not played their best game yet. Neither have the Blues. This series is now a big boy series, and the intensity has ramped up. The calling cards and the games within the game are becoming more evident.

The hit by Blues captain, Alex Pietrangelo, on Zach Parise, as the clock expired in game four made quite a statement. No, it wasn't a dirty hit, but yes it was cheap. Oh well, the stakes are high, and it shows that Pietrangelo and his Blues team is playing for keeps.

Bruce Boudreau, in my opinion, should have left that hit alone, in his post game comments. I prefer to look at Parise's smile after he got up, almost saying, & is that all you got?&
These teams know each other very well, the mutual dislike runs deep. There is very little that either team doesn't know about their opponent. The chess match is on and the intensity level is only going higher.

The Blues will continue to flex their muscle in front of Jake Allen, and they will continue to run interference through the neutral zone. The Wild will have to fight through this and utilize their speed, and quick puck movement to penetrate the middle of the ice and get better looks at the Blues net. More importantly, they need to get in tight to Allen who is dishing out rebounds that will lead to Wild goals.

Expect the Blues to also make their offensive adjustments especially with their top line in an effort to get sniper Vladimir Tarasenko into better positions to shoot the puck. Paul Stastny is another x factor for the Blues and his presence in the lineup will create more offense.

Game five should be an absolute war. Looking forward to the best game of the series today on NBC.

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