First round series preview

The St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild drop the puck tonight in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Read below to see the first round series preview for both teams.

The St. Louis Blues are in Minnesota tonight for game one of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. As the three seed from the Central Division, the Blues are set to take on the Minnesota Wild, the two seed. This is expected to be a great series in the opening round.

For the 10th time in 11 seasons, the Blues are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The last two trips have resulted in poor performances and first-round exits. Coming off the 2019 Stanley Cup Championship, St. Louis lost to the Vancouver Canucks in the bubble playoffs. Last season, St. Louis was swept by the Colorado Avalanche.

For the second straight year and the eighth time in 10 years, the Minnesota Wild are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Last season, the Wild lost four games to three, to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.

Regular season recap

St. Louis swept Minnesota in the regular season series, winning all three games. The Blues won on the frigid New Year’s Day game at the NHL Winter Classic. St. Louis did not seem to mind the -8 real temperature as they scored six goals in the victory. Jordan Kyrou led St. Louis with four points on the night.

The final two games of the season series were played at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The Blues won both of those games in overtime. If the three games were any indication of how the series will be, you better buckle your seatbelt.

Postseason history

The two teams have met twice before in the postseason. In 2015, the Wild won the first round series 4-2. The Blues had won the Central Division that season and lost as the #1 seed. In 2017, St. Louis got revenge with a 4-1 series win, beating the Wild as a #3 seed.

Heavyweight battle

These two teams are not ready for their season to end and, sadly, one team will be done in about a week or more. Both teams are very talented but only one team can go on.

Talk about sharing the sugar, nine different Blues scored 20 or more goals this season. That is the most by any team in the NHL this season. Four players passed the 70 points mark on the season and three of them come from the same line.

Not one, not two, but THREE point streaks were extended with this one shot.

Robert Thomas (15 games)
Pavel Buchnevich (12 games)
Vladimir Tarasenko (8 games)#stlblues pic.twitter.com/xmkhGdlSxP

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 22, 2022

The line of Vladimir Tarasenko, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich has been deadly this season. For what seemed like a long time, Thomas had his point streak snapped recently after it reached 17 games. Tarasenko led the team in goals and points this season, bringing back a vintage Tarasenko performance.

The Minnesota Wild may have the best player on the ice with Kirill Kaprizov. The second-year player scored 108 points with 47 goals on the season. He practically took over every Minnesota Wild offensive record this season.

KAPRIZOV DID THE ꩜
JOST DID THE 🚨#mnwild pic.twitter.com/nplNkQmJh8

— x – Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 30, 2022

I have nightmares of what Kaprizov could do to our defense.

If St. Louis is able to slow down Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala, Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman are dangerous players as well.

While Cam Talbot is 0-3 against St. Louis this season, he has not lost in regulation since March 6th against the Dallas Stars. That is something the Blues have yet to find this season is consistent goaltending.

Coach Craig Berube has yet to name a starter for game one which does not sound promising. This is the first year for Ville Husso on the big stage which could bring jitters and bad play. We all know how Jordan Binnington was introduced to the hockey world, which is not the normal way of introductions.

If St. Louis can find consistent goaltending in this series, they will have a very good chance of moving on to the second round.

Staff Picks

Colten: St. Louis in 6

Rodney: Minnesota in 5

Game One Information

Location: Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, Minnesota
Game Time: 8:30 p.m. CT
TV: BSMW, Bally Sports App, ESPN
Radio: 101.1 ESPN St. Louis, NHL App

Game One Lines by DraftKings

Spread: Minnesota -1.5
Money Line: Minnesota -140
St. Louis +120
Over/Under: 6.5

Stanley Cup Odds by DraftKings

Colorado Avalanche +330
Florida Panthers +550
Calgary Flames +700
Toronto Maple Leafs +900
Tampa Bay Lightning +1100
Carolina Hurricanes +1200
New York Rangers +1600
Minnesota Wild +1600
Boston Bruins +1600
Pittsburgh Penguins +1800
Edmonton Oilers +1800
St. Louis Blues +2000
Washington Capitals +3000
Nashville Predators +4500
Dallas Stars +4500
Los Angeles Kings +6000