Wild Vs. Blues: Reviewing the Regular Season Results
Apr 11, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Marco Scandella (6) reaches for a loose puck as he is being defended by St. Louis Blues left wing Alexander Steen (20) during the first period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
For the Minnesota Wild, the road to the Stanley Cup will start in St. Louis.
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The Wild finished as the top Wild Card seed in the Western Conference and drew the Blues, the Central Division champions. The Wild and Blues are division foes but have never faced off in the postseason, so a tight series would go a long way in stoking the brewing rivalry. Many experts are expecting this series to be one of the best, if not the best, in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The teams squared off four times during the regular season. The Wild managed five points in the four games. In November, the Blues bested Minnesota 3-2 in a shootout in St. Paul. It is hard to glean too much information from a game that occurred in November. The team was about to hit the skids and Devan Dubnyk was still months away from joining the Wild.
The teams would not meet again for over three months. That meant that the Blues did not catch the Wild when they were at the bottom of the barrel. By the time they met up again, Dubnyk was entrenched in the nets and the Wild won both March meetings, 3-1 and 6-3 respectively. Each team had one of those games at home so it was impressive for the Wild to sweep both.
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As I’m sure everyone knows, the Blues knocked off the Wild in the regular season finale 4-2 on Saturday afternoon. Much like the game in November, I do not think that result will have any weight on the series, albeit for different reasons. Many players on both sides sat to get ready for the playoff grind. Both teams will have all of their key players back for Game 1. The Blues like to play a physical, grind it out brand of hockey. The Wild can beat that type of team, but they will have to be ready to fight for pucks in the corners and take some licks. Dubnyk will have to continue his stellar play and the Wild will have to lean on their great depth to get a first round win.
Game one will be Thursday night in St. Louis. Puck drop is at 8:30 CDT. Check back with us for more previews of the series between now and then.