ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) With a mid-series goalkeeper change and an unorthodox lineup, the St. Louis Blues eliminated the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The squad now travels to Colorado for the second round, where they will face the top-seeded Avalanche.
Blues forward David Perron remarked, "I don't mind opening the playoffs on the road." "I think a lot of times you just have anxiety sitting at home, and when you get on the road, you're kind of sitting with the guys at the hotel."
The Blues have faced the Avalanche in the playoffs twice previously, losing both times, including last season when they were swept in the first round.
The Blues believe they are in a stronger position than last season to compete with Colorado.
Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly remarked, "I think we're a better squad than last year." "It'll be a difficult test for us." They're one of the top teams in the league this year, if not the best. They're both lively and profound."
This season, nine Blues players scored at least 20 goals, the most in the NHL.
Blues coach Craig Berube remarked, "We're deeper this year than we were last year." "We're deeper upfront, and we're deeper on the back end." So, I believe it will be a difficult series."
The depth of the Blues' blue line was put to the test against the Wild. Injuries to Nicky Leddy, Robert Bortuzzo, and Torey Krug cost St. Louis three games in the first round.
For Game 5, Leddy and Bortuzzo returned, but Krug (lower body) is still out. Due to the injuries, the coaching staff decided to start 11 forwards and seven defenders against Minnesota in the last three games.
Blues forward Tyler Bozak remarked, "There's a lot that goes into that." "They (coaches) have a different perspective on the game than we do." They're always observing, and they've gotten a good sense of who's doing well and what they believe would work for us. So they certainly made some excellent choices in this season."
Scott Perunovich, an emergency call-up after Krug's injury, has assumed Krug's slot on the power play, which went 8 for 26 against the Wild, scoring at least once in every game.
"I know we employed a lot of (defensemen) in the series," Berube said, "but they all had a task to perform and they accomplished it." "That's all there is to it." That was one of the main reasons we chose the seven."
After moving to Jordan Binnington in Game 4, the Blues won the next three games against the Wild. Binnington had a save percentage of.944 after stopping 84 of 89 shots.
Binnington remarked, "I tried to go in there with the idea of simply competing and giving the team a chance to win."
The forthcoming opponent for the Blues has had plenty of time to relax.
The Colorado Avalanche became the first club to reach the second round of the playoffs this year, sweeping the Nashville Predators.
Colorado trailed for a total of 4 minutes, 57 seconds in Game 4 of its first series.
The Avalanche scored 5.25 goals per game on average and converted 43.8 percent of their man-advantage chances.
In the first round, the Blues' penalty kills allowed four goals on 24 tries (83.3 percent).
"Everyone out there trusts each other to do the right thing and back each other up," added Bozak. "I believe it begins with goaltending." First and first, your goalkeeper must be the top penalty killer in the league, and our goaltenders have been outstanding all season."
For the fourth consecutive season, the Avalanche are in the Western Conference playoffs.
Cale Makar scored 10 points in Colorado's sweep, and the Blues will have to find a way to slow him down. He is the first defenseman to score 10 points in a four-game series in NHL history.
"We all know they're a fantastic squad, Colorado," Berube remarked. "They have a number of top-tier players." You'll have to perform a lot of things correctly."
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