NHL Power Rankings: Lightning strikes, Flames burn out

16. St. Louis Blues (+3)

The St. Louis Blues have been battling every step of the way towards the playoffs. It has not been an easy path, and they have faced many injuries along the way. There are three main players for the Blues that are out for the season currently and plenty of others have missed time with day-to-day injuries. Brayden Schenn has carried the team offensively, scoring 63 points in 75 games for the Blues. Normally Vladmir Tarasenko is the person carrying the offense, but he has not had his best season so far. The Blues are sitting in the final wild card spot in the Western Conference and it will be a wild ride to close out the season.

The Blues got hot at the right time of the season. They sit in the Western Conference’s crazy wildcard battle. They need three points to jump the Minnesota Wild and only have one point separating them from missing the playoffs. Luckily, the Blues have a game in hand on the teams below them in the standings. If they are able to take points in this extra game it will be enough to pull them into the playoffs. They beat the Bruins and Blackhawks in overtime to start their last set. Then they beat the Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets before topping the Sharks in overtime. Their final six games include matchups against the Vegas Golden Knights, Arizona Coyotes, Washington Capitals, two against the Chicago Blackhawks and finally the Colorado Avalanche.