Five Keys to Playoff Success

Jaybo, Backes, and Pietro must be prime playoff performers.

Well, here we are again. Another spring, another improbable journey that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs lies ahead of the St. Louis Blues. The first step in that journey: beating their most hated rivals and defending Stanley Cup Champions, Chicago Blackhawks.

Here are the five keys to the Blues hoisting the cup for the first time in franchise history:

1. The Defense. These guys have got to be a wall as well as a gateway. They have to keep the Blues defensive game in check and also provide some offense for a depleted forward group. Pietrangelo and Bouwmeester have got to be minute-munchers and play like the pairing that backed a defensive-minded Canadian team to Olympic gold. Shattenkirk must shake the demons of playoffs past and play great two-way hockey. Jackman and Polack have to avoid being over exposed, be warriors and minimize mistakes, while getting in the face of the opposition and shutting down their offense. Leopold, Colaiacovo, and Cole must step up when called upon. The Blues first step to the Cup starts with the backend.
2. Ryan Miller. Pretty simple: he’s got to be a deference- maker. Plain as can be.
   
3. Jaden Schwartz. A “Mr. Hockey” in the making. He is my pick to be the prime playoff performer in this lineup. With so many regulars down, he must continue his goal scoring ways and then some in the playoffs. He was arguably the Blues best forward last post-season. Now he has become a finisher, and for the Blues to finish on top, Schwartz has got to take control.
4. David Backes. He’s the leader, MVP, and heart and soul of this franchise that should be accepting his third Selke Trophy this summer. With all of the injuries, this is the one that the Blues can NOT afford to have extended into the playoffs. Backes must be in the lineup, making a difference, every shift, every game. He personifies what it means to wear the note.
5. Luck. It seems that in years past this has not been on the side of the Blues when it comes to the post-season. They’ll need a little to get through the playoffs and march down Market.

Thanks for reading and Let’s go Blues!

Western Conference Semifinals: Game 1

Blues, Pietrangelo go down in game one.

Highlights:

How's This For Parity?

You want parity in professional sports? Then look no further than the NHL.

The following list represents the seed number of all eight teams headed to the semifinals:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

That's right. The winners from both the Eastern and Western Conference Quarterfinals have no duplicates, that is, every seed is represented in the next round:

#1 New York (East)
#2 St. Louis (West)
#3 Phoenix (West)
#4 Nashville (West)
#5 Philadelphia (East)
#6 New Jersey (East)
#7 Washington (East)
#8 Los Angeles (West)

This is a shining tribute to the level of competition and parody in the NHL. There are no more favorites and anyone can win once they are in the playoffs.

Not only are the series tight, but the games themselves have been so far as well. The NHL set a first round record with 16 overtime games.

Nothing but fun and excitement left ahead in the playoffs!

No Tomorrow.

The word around St. Louis from some is that the Blues' season has been a success: a division title, third in the NHL, and the first playoff series win in ten years.

Reading a forum on stltoday.com entitled "What do you consider a successful season for the Blues?", many suggested simply winning a playoff series was the goal and anything else is considered gravy.

I hope the players think like myself.

I believe, when you make the playoffs, anything else than raising the Stanley Cup is a failure.

With the Western Conference so wide open, why should the Blues not expect to reach hockey's holy grail? I'll be damned if I am going to watch Phoenix, Arizona or Nashville, Tennessee have a cup parade before us.

Not one team in the Western Conference has ever won the cup. In my opinion, the West is far and away the stronger conference even if the "experts" don't agree (Of course they picked the Pens and Canucks to win it all).

Looking at the East, not one team is strong defensively. There are no stand-out goalies like the West contains. Come Thursday, seeds five through eight could be all that are left. In my honest opinion, most of the Eastern Conference's elite would have struggled to even make the playoffs in the West.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The West is were the Blues will really be tested. Nashville and St. Louis have to be the favorites to come out of their conference. Both have strong goaltending, play well defensively, and can score as needed.

Once again, let's not jump over Los Angeles, which will be a real test for the Blues. The number eight seed just took down Vancouver in a physical series where Jonathan Quick was lights-out.

Everyone around town is saying that Los Angeles and Nashville are scary match-ups for the Blues. I have news for you, they are all going to be scary from here on out, it's the Stanley Cup playoffs!

And why should the Blues be scared? To me, if I was another team, I would be afraid to face the Note:

• a red-hot power play.
• a red-hot McDonald (who has a history of being a red-hot playoff scorer on a cup-winner).
• red-hot goaltending.
• Great leadership, from the Captain to Vets like Langenbrunner, Arnott, and McDonald.
• we've been good all season long, never faultering under Hitchcock.
• Oh yeah, experienced coaching, who put in a system that has worked wonders and put belief in some underachieving players (See Oshie, Berglund). And...he's won a cup before.

I know I am looking through biased eyes while writing this, but to me, the Blues have to be favorites, especially if they can get out of the extremely tough Western Conference.

These opportunities are fleeting, fellow Blues fans, and our mantra does not need to be "We'll be good years to come, it's been a success, let's win it next year when we'll be even better." Look how tough the league is, look how tough the West is, and look how tough the Central is. You can bet that early exits by Detroit and Chicago are going to spark change in those organizations to make them competitive next season. Nashville will be back with virtual the same team, and Columbus will  be on the rise someday.

The parody in the NHL is remarkable. A cup contender one year can miss the playoffs the next. There has not been a repeat cup winner since 1998 (Detroit). The Blues were poised in 2009 to break out and be a perennial playoff team. They missed the playoffs for the next two seasons.

There are no guarantees to make it to the playoffs, and once you're there the goal is to win the cup.

"Think how good we'll be next year" is a phrase Blues fans need to lose. The time is now. The opportunity is right in front of this team, and it is time they seize it and not hope for a better tomorrow. There should be no tomorrow in the locker room or the expectations.

July 6, 2011: The Day the Blues Became Contenders

When the Blues power play struggled early on in the season, whose booming shot did they turn to to score on the PP?

Jason Arnott.

When the Blues needed a leader to provide energy and edge, who was there?

Jamie  Langenbrunner.

When the Blues needed a big shift after giving up a goal, or just some good solid two-way hockey, who went on the ice?

Arnott and Langenbrunner.

When the Blues signed veterans Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner in the off-season, they put the pieces in place to be successful in the postseason.

Look no further than the clinching game 5 over the Sharks in the Western Conference Quarterfinals: The Sharks were in control, up 1-0 on the Blues who had generated little offense. The crowd at Scottrade was mute and preparing for a sixth game in San Jose.

But along came Langenbrunner, scoring a huge goal that set off a 45 second rally and propelled the Blues to the Western Conference Semifinals.

Langenbrunner has a history of scoring big goals in the playoffs, he is the active leader in playoff overtime goals and ranks third in playoff game-winning goals.

And Arnott? He only scored the game-winning overtime goal clinching the Stanley Cup for New Jersey in 2000.

For years the Blues have been a "bubble" team, poised to make the post season and take that next step. But lack of leadership and inexperience seemed to trump their talent, hard work, and potential season after season.

This off-season, Armstrong added Langenbrunner and Arnott on the same day with identical contracts. Both had been captains. Both had won the Stanley Cup.

Darren Pang Tweeted at the time: "These two signings are going to be significant for the development of players ready to take that next step."

It was not just significant for the development of players, but the development of a team as a contender.

Western Conference Quarterfinals: Game 5

Highlights:

"Smile You Son of a ..." Time to Finish off the Sharks

I've heard the golf courses in San Jose are nice. The Blues need to let the Sharks enjoy them next week.

This is the hardest one to win; the forth one. The Blues look to eliminate the Sharks tonight in front of a home crowd that will be rocking. With the series 3-1 in the Blues favor, Coach Hitchcock knows the importance of clinching as soon as possible. He talked before game four about wrapping up the series and not prolonging it for the players or extending travel time.

"I was in a lot of these [series] coming in and out of Dallas and they were not easy series. When it got to Game 5, 6, and 7 they were not easy for players, for coaches, for sleep patterns and they really impacted the next series."

Not to jump too far ahead, but Nashville has already clinched, and the other two Western Conference series stand at 3-1, with the Kings and Coyotes ready to move on as well. The Blues clinching in five will do wonders for rest and preparation for the next round.

Still, the Blues are not looking ahead and know that tonight's game will not be easy.

"We need to realize this next game is going to be the toughest one," Andy McDonald told stltoday.com. "If we don't play our best hockey, they're going to beat us."

Hitchcock added that the Blues are going to get the Sharks' "A-game. We know it. We just have to have an A-plus game."

There's blood in the water. Time for the Blues to clinch their first playoff series in ten years.