Bring on the Sharks! But Who Will Hold the Net?

The Blues finished the season with a victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. The Pacific division shuffled around and with a Vancouver win, the Blues were seeded second in the Western Conference. This means they will face the Sharks in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to begin Wednesday.

The NHL network will reveal the schedule live at noon today.

The Blues were 4-0 against the Sharks this season and have dominated them in recent years. But this is the post season and the Blues have not been at the top of their game of late while the Sharks have been on fire.

The Pacific division came down to the wire. The Coyotes won on the last game of the season (defeating the Blues a night before) to clinch the division and making the final game between the Kings and Sharks a battle for seventh and eighth place.

The Blues' final opponent, Dallas, was in first place in that division five games ago. Now their season is over, sitting in ninth place.

The Sharks had to battle to get into the playoffs and the Blues stumbled on their way in. A few days off should give them time to regroup, rest, and get back to the style that made them an elite team this year.

The time off will also give Hitchcock a chance to think about the roster. The forth line could be made of any number of players. The goaltending situation is a good thing, but no easy task to pick a starter for game one.

Could the NHL leader in GA and Save %  be sitting the first game of the playoffs? It certainly appears so. Elliott did not get much support in his 4-1 loss against Phoenix, and his entire miraculous, best season by a goalie from start to finish that I have ever seen by a Blues goalie may be unfairly summed up by that loss. 


On the other hand, Halak does have more playoff experience which includes that amazing run with Montreal two years ago. Of course, when he did that, he was a back-up goalie that out-shined the starter (sound familiar?)