St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Game 3 Preview: Blues Look to Take Lead as Series Shifts to Road
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
The St. Louis Blues will look to take a lead for the first time in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild on Monday, attempting to gain momentum as the series shifts to Minnesota’s home ice for the first time. In order to accomplish this, they’ll need to improve upon their regular season performance. The Blues were not able to win in regulation in Minnesota during the regular season, as their only victory during their two visits to the Xcel Energy Center came in a shootout on November 29. Their March 21 visit to Minnesota resulted in a momentum-deflating 6-3 loss to the Wild.
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After a 4-1 victory on Saturday that likely did good things for their confidence, the Blues go into Monday with the edge. However, it’s important that they don’t take their foot off the gas at any point. When the Blues have relaxed too much and gotten away from the intense and aggressive style that’s helped them so much this year, they’ve struggled in particular against the Wild. This has resulted in two regular season losses to Minnesota and a loss in Game 1 of the playoff series.
Despite the victory on Saturday, it seems as if there will be changes in the Blues’ lineup on Monday, which frankly is probably for the best as the team moves into a more tenacious environment on the road. Nothing is known as to exactly what will change, though we should know more after the team skates on Monday morning.
Next: Blues' Projected Lineup