By Andrew Allsman| Posted: May 2, 2013| Contact |
The Blues found great success in Game One of their best of
seven series against the Los Angeles Kings. Despite a late third period push
from the Kings, the Blues had control of the game for most of Tuesday night.
The Blues failed to convert on numerous quality scoring chances, and found
themselves blowing their one-goal lead late in the third period. Thanks to Alex
Steen’s overtime heroics, the Blues emerged with the victory and the 1-0 series
lead. The Blues will have to work much harder to leave St. Louis up two games.
“I’m sure we are going to get one of their better games; we
just have to be ready for it,” said Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock after his
team’s pre-game skate on Thursday.
The Blues outshot, out-chanced, and outscored the Kings on
Tuesday night, but aren’t satisfied with where they are. They know that a true
contender must improve on a daily basis. Players are not looking too much into
the Game One victory, stating that while they did some good things, there is a
long way to go. And if anybody knows how strong the Kings can push when in a
hole, it is the Blues.
“You can’t read much into it,” said Blues forward Chris
Stewart. “You have to get four wins and obviously it would be great to get
another one tonight.”
“If Game One is the high-water mark for us, it’s not good
enough to win the series,” said Hitchcock. “We are going to have to play better
than we did in Game One if we want to win the series. As long as you get
better, you push the competition up. If you stay the same or move backwards,
the other team will have the advantage.”
In last year’s playoffs, the Blues were swept by the Kings,
with little problem. The Blues had some chances to get a couple of wins--their
best two games of the series were Games One and Four--but the Blues experienced
a quality team figuring out how to climb out of tough situations. That is what
the Blues strive to be.
“We are dealing with an experienced team that knows how to win,” said Hitchcock. “They are not an old team but they know how to win. They have been pushed to the limit and they’ve responded every time. We are trying to gain that knowledge here and the only way to do that is to get better and better each game.”
Before Tuesday’s win, the Blues had been winless in their
last eight games against the Kings. The Blues, who were viewed as the underdog
of this series despite having the higher seed, have had trouble matching the
Kings’ size and intensity the past few seasons. It’s obviously understandable
that the Blues gained a great deal of confidence from their Game One victory.
“I don’t think, by any means, we played a perfect Game One
but we just have to keep playing hard,” said Stewart. “To get that first win
was a huge confidence boost. You are looking at the column and see we lost
eight straight to one team, and now it’s eight to one. We are going to keep
chipping away at it.”
Tuesday’s game is an 8:30 p.m. CT start, which is unusual
for a game hosted by the Blues. Blues captain David Backes says ‘Hitch’ will
likely use the extra time to watch some game footage, while Stewart will get a
longer-than-normal pre-game nap. Whatever they do to prepare for tonight’s
game, the Blues will have to be ready for the Kings who are seeking redemption
and looking to even the series at one.
Notes for Game Two:
- The pre-game rally, originally scheduled to take place
before Game 2, has been cancelled due to the threat of inclement weather. The
doors at Scottrade Center will open at 7 p.m. CT.
- There are no lineup changes for the Blues tonight.
- The Blues will be going for their seventh consecutive home
win tonight.
- The goaltending matchup will be Brian Elliott (STL) vs.
Jonathan Quick (L.A.)