Do the Blues have a playoff push in them?
THE WATERCOOLER
QUESTION: Showing an inability to maintain any kind of sustained success, do you see any way this Blues team fights its way into the playoffs this year?
JEREMY RUTHERFORD
The Blues could have woke up this morning only three points out of a playoff spot. But after their 3-2 loss to Vancouver, they’re five points out of the eighth spot in the West with 54 points. Either way, the team is not in terrible shape. After 53 games last season, they had 50 points. But that team, of course, had to go 19-6-4 in its final 29 games, including 9-1-1 in the last 11 games, to sneak into the playoffs
Does this Blues’ team have that kind of run left in it? It’s highly unlikely, but then again it was last year, too. The difference this season is that the Blues aren’t on the top of their game like they were at this time last season. True, it was a one-goal loss last night in Vancouver, which has the best home record in the league. But the Blues were terribly inconsistent, like they’ve been most of the season, and that hardly bodes well for a repeat of last year.
DAN O’NEILL
On one hand, given they are five points removed from a playoff spot, given they still have 29 games remaining, it would be silly to say there is no way this team “fights” its way into the playoffs. Of course it can still make the playoffs.
On the other hand, 12 teams in the 15-team conference have more points than the Blues. On the other hand, this team has been unable to sustain any kind of momentum and, to this point, its performance under the new coach — while I like him quite a bit — is not altogether different than its performance under the old coach.
On the other hand, does it matter much if the Blues do make the playoffs?
They fought their way into the playoffs last year only to be swept out in four games. For a number of reasons, some of them tangible, some of them intangible, it just isn’t happening this year, and it won’t happen in the playoffs either.
Nothing represents that better than Erik Johnson’s rush in the closing moments at Vancouver. He skates the length of the ice … beats Roberto Luongo … and the shot hits the under side of the crossbar and caroms out.
The season, in a nutshell.
JEFF GORDON
I am skeptical, to say the least. The challenge is similar to what we saw last season. Climbing past multiple teams is difficult. The Western Conference appears to be more difficult this season — although Calgary’s recent collapse did aid the Blues bid. I’m guessing that Detroit and Anaheim finish out well, which could throw up the roadblock. The Blues will have to win at the same sort of rate they won last year — and that is extremely difficult. This team is one slump away from falling by the wayside. Given the team’s collective lack of firepower, how can they avoid that slump?
KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
Sure, there’s a way. They’re 5 points out of the last spot in the West with 29 games remaining and even with last night’s loss they’re 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and they’ve been robbed of points three times since Davis Payne took over, losing three one-goal games directly because of bad calls or non-calls by the referees.
Anaheim scores the game winning goal (with an empty netter following later) after Barrett Jackman gets taken out in front of the Blues net. No call, Ducks score with 2:40 left. Ottawa scores the game winning goal on the power play after a joke of a tripping call on T.J. Oshie. Now last night Vancouver wins on a lame slashing call that doesn’t come until after Henrik Sedin does his best Charlton Heston over-acting routine. I know officiating is an issue teams can’t control but when you have three blown calls (or non-calls in the Jackman case) late in games that lead directly to game-winning goals it’s not unfair or whiny to acknowledge points were lost on those calls. The men in stripes have cost the Blues at least three points in the last couple of weeks.
The Blues need to do a better job on the power play, they need to get outstanding play in net and they need to turn their home record around the rest of the way if they’re going to make it to the playoffs again. It would also be nice if they’re able to get points when they earn them.
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