#2 St. Louis Blues vs. #8 Los Angeles Kings
The St. Louis Blues beat the San Jose Sharks in every aspect of the game. They got better offense out of their forwards, better defense out of the back end and better goaltending from their pair of tenders, Elliot and Halak and it showed. They took the series in five games with Hitchcock’s defensive system taking over. It was something that the Sharks couldn’t fight through. It was something that they couldn’t handle and the Blues moved onward. The Kings on the other hand, shocked many in the hockey world by taking out the number one team in the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks. Part of that was because Daniel Sedin was out the first three games. The other part was Dustin Brown and Mike Richards and while Quick was a big part of it, we knew that he would be. He has been stellar all year and did not disappoint through the first five games of the playoffs.
The St. Louis Blues are by all means a defensive team that relies heavily on stellar goaltending and a counter attack. They have offensive firepower in Oshie and Perron and have gotten a lot of assistance from Captain, David Backes, but is it enough? I’m not sure. I think that the Blues need to get more help. MacDonald has been a pretty big part of the playoffs so far as well, but I think that they need their depth to take it to the next level. I’m not going to pretend to know the ins and the outs of the top 12 forwards on the St. Louis Blues, but I will say this. It’s the playoffs and everyone that hits that ice has to be a contributor. They have to play like they are in the playoffs and if they aren’t, then they are a liability.
If the Blues can play the defense that has made them the number three team in the NHL, they are still a dangerous team. They can still take this series and they can still move onto the cup. I am not trying to put the team down, because they are a well coached system with veteran experience from Arnott and Langenbrunner. They still have one of the most dangerous one-two’s in the crease, assuming that Halak is healthy in this series but they are going to need to step their game up to beat the Kings.
The Kings are looking more and more like the team that everyone thought that they would be before the season started. Mike Richards and Dustin Brown have continued to be gritty bruisers that get into the corners and force turnovers. Dustin Brown had two short handed goals in the series against Vancouver and Mike Richards had a stellar series. They are getting help from the back end as well. Doughty, while not living up to his paycheck, is playing good defense and has been a relatively decent quarterback for the team. Mitchell is pitching in more than I anticipated and Green isn’t doing so bad either.
It’s interesting watching this Kings team because everyone is stepping up. They are all taking it to the next level and the organization is getting help from everyone. even Mr. Pancake himself, Dustin Penner. Penner has been a liability since he joined the team. He is slow. He doesn’t put up points and he isn’t much of a two-way player, but that’s not the case in the playoffs. Sure, he’s still slow and he isn’t back checking like he should be, but he’s out there. He’s trying and he’s contributing offensively, which is something that these Kings need desperately.
I don’t see either of these teams lighting the lamp too frequently in this series. If we’re lucky, we’ll get a combined three or four goals a game. Either way, I think that this series goes the distance and that it will be decided by the offensive depth. Both sets of goaltenders have proven themselves. Both teams have solid, young defenders and the offense of each team matches up. It’s just going to be about who hits harder and who goes that extra mile.
Is it Backes, Perron, Arnott and Oshie? Or is it Brown, Richards, Carter and Kopitar?
I suppose only time will tell, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kings take the Blues. If The Kings play like they did in the Vancouver series, the Blues are going to have a tough time overcoming adversity and I think that they will. I think that the Kings will play a physical game and I think that their offense will give them what they need to make it to the next round.
Prediction: Kings in 6
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