Blues, Blackhawks set for Round 1 war after Dallas wins West
Ken Hitchcock knows the St. Louis Blues were bound to face a talented team in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“Might as well start at the top,” he said.
The Blues will open the playoffs against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night, after falling 5-1 to the Washington Capitals on Saturday night. Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick and, and Braden Holtby tied Martin Brodeur’s record for wins in a single regular season with 48.
Even if they had defeated the Capitals, the Dallas Stars’ win over the Nashville Predators ensured that Jamie Benn and the boys are your Western Conference regular-season champions. The Stars will face the Minnesota Wild, and should totally come out in Game 3 wearing North Stars jerseys as a quality troll move.
The Blues lost to the Blackhawks in the first round of the playoffs, 4-2, in 2013-14.
Brian Elliott will get the start in Game 1, according to Hitchcock. “He wants a crack, he’s going to get it.”
No word if David Backes will be available for Game 1. But due to Duncan Keith’s suspension, we can’t have another wakey-wakey incident until Game 2 at the very least.
Oh, this series will be fun.
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
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