With 11 games remaining in the regular season, the St. Louis Blues have to do some soul-searching against the Chicago Blackhawks if they want any chance at Lord Stanley.
So Blues fans, this is fun, right? We’re close to pulling the plug on the regular season and giving life to the NHL playoffs, and if you love hockey, you’ve no doubt waited for this stretch since the puck dropped in October. Or maybe even way back when the schedule was announced.
If you’re a Blackhawks fan, you’ve probably been drooling in your sleep about some Tarantino-type revenge since that first round exit last year at the mitts of the Nashville Predators. Unfortunately, it’s likely that the drinking games came early for you Chicago fans. Somewhere around mid-January during an indigestible 12 losses in 14 games. So revenge will have to wait as Chicago finds itself on the bottom rung of the Central Division. The Hawks will likely miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. What a run. Be proud.
St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago Blackhawks: Watch online
Date: Sunday, March 18
Location: United Center, Chicago
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: Fubo.tv
St. Louis fans, hopefully, didn’t put all their money into Irish Whiskey just yet. Playoff tickets could be around the corner. They’re still in this thing, though it’s going to take a good/great last climb to make it, and some luck.
That climb has to begin with their showdown against Chicago on Sunday, as points quickly go the way of the dinosaur. With 11 games left and three back of a wildcard, the margin for error is narrowing every day.
Injuries will play a part, of course. As Michelle Bruton noted, the loss of Jay Bouwmeester earlier in the month has soured a Blues team hoping to make one last dash for a spot in the playoffs, and losing standout netminder Carter Hutton for any of the next few games means St. Louis will need to rely on a struggling Jake Allen. He has four wins and 15 losses — with three no decisions — in his previous 22 games.
On Chicago’s end, they’re likely just trying to play bully right now and keep nemesis St. Louis from reaching the postseason. This will be only the second of four meetings between the division rivals. They met in October where the Blackhawks fell 5-2 and will face each other again in a home-and-home set in April.
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Watch for the Blues to dig deep to make this the start of a nice run. If they can’t, there could be major changes coming in the off-season for a team that failed to make it through the second round last year and has not lived up to their recent hype.