First things first: Blues meet Blackhawks trying to find a first-round success formula

On the eve of their first-round playoff series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, two strange things occurred for the St. Louis Blues.

First, they hit the ice Tuesday with a healthy lineup for the first time all season. Second, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock spoke about the health of his team for roughly 26 seconds, then walked out of the media room almost as quickly as he had entered it.

Welcome to the 2016 playoffs, a time Blues fans have been anxiously awaiting since the day they were eliminated from the postseason a year ago by the Minnesota Wild. This is another shot at first-round redemption — or another trip to first-round failure — and Game 1 is set for 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Scottrade Center.

Three straight seasons the Blues have entered and exited the playoffs after only one round, including in 2014 against these same Blackhawks.

“I don’t necessarily need to revisit all those emotions,” said Blues captain David Backes, who pronounced himself healthy and ready to go Tuesday after missing the final week of the regular season with a lower-body injury. “We’ve dealt with that, we’re past that and we’re going to move on to write that new chapter, the new story in the St. Louis Blues book of ‘Get past whatever’s happened in the past and concentrate on the now.’ If we dwell on those old stories and those old feelings, we’re bound to repeat them.”

Backes said this Blues team is better after surviving an injury-plagued season that saw the players persevere and turn in a 107-point season. It’s deeper up front and and on defense and is backstopped by two solid goaltenders in Brian Elliott and Jake Allen.

There’s also experience gained by losing in the playoffs, a game-breaking forward in Vladimir Tarasenko and a trio of rookies in Robby Fabbri, Colton Parayko and Joel Edmundson ready to prove themselves in the postseason.

Is all that good enough to derail a star-studded Blackhawks team seeking its second straight Stanley Cup title and fourth in seven seasons?

“We’re not going to be perfect,” Backes said. “I doubt we go 16-0 to win a Stanley Cup. We’re going to lose games at times and it’s how we respond, how we rebound and get our game back on the next night that’s going to determine how we do as a group.”

Backes admits the first-round matchup against the rival Blackhawks should spice things up a bit, but welcomes the opportunity.

“To win the Stanley Cup, you’re going to have to beat the best teams and why not start with the defending Stanley Cup champions?” Backes said. “Whether we like it or not or whatever the case may be, they’re our opponent and we’ve got to see who can win four games before the other team does.”

Want a few crazy numbers?

During the past three seasons, the Blues have more regular-season victories (152) than the Blackhawks (141). But while the Blues own a total of six playoff victories in those same three seasons, the Blackhawks have 43 while winning two Stanley Cups.

“When you know a team as well as we know each other, the total focus is on your own game,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “That’s where we’re at right now: we know everything about them, they know everything about us. We know how good they are, we know what their record is, we know what their pedigree is, so the focus becomes us.”

Following is a playoff series breakdown by position:

By the numbers

POWER PLAY: Blues-21.5 percent, sixth in NHL; Blackhawks-22.6 percent, second in NHL

PENALTY KILL: Blues-85.1 percent, third in NHL; Blackhawks-80.3 percent, 22nd in NHL

GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE: Blues-2.40, fourth in NHL; Blackhawks-2.50, 10th in NHL

SCORING: Blues-2.7 goals per game, 15th in NHL; Balckhawks-2.9 goals per game, sixth in NHL.

FORWARDS

The Blackhawks have the NHL scoring champ in Patrick Kane (46 goals, 106 points), the key figure on a top line with leading Rookie of the Year candidate Artemi Panarin (30 goals, 77 points; five goals and 13 points in his last five games) and Artem Ansimov (20 goals, 42 points). There’s also annual playoff kingpin Jonathan Toews (28 goals, 58 points), but even with the made-for-playoffs Marian Hossa and Andrew Ladd, the ‘Hawks forwards are a bit thinner after than in past years. The Blues can’t offer as much elite-level talent after Vladimir Tarasenko (40 goals, 74 points), but have a stable of quality veteran forwards like Alexander Steen, Backes, Paul Stastny, Jaden Schwartz, Troy Brouwer and the energetic Fabbri (18 goals, 37 points). They also can wear teams down by rolling four lines and using physical play at both ends. In 2014, the Blues’ inability to corral Kane and Toews cost them after winning the first two games of the series. This is a chance for the Blues to atone for their past playoff sins.

EDGE: Blackhawks

DEFENSE

The Blues catch a break with Blackhawks workhorse defenseman Duncan Keith (nine goals, 43 points) forced to sit out the final game of his suspension in Game 1. While the Blackhawks still have veterans Brent Seabrook (14 goals, 49 points) and Niklas Hjalmarsson, the rest of their defense unit isn’t as strong as it has been in the past thanks to the loss of Johnny Oduya and others. The Blues counter with a top pairing of veterans Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester and they rely heavily on offensive defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (14 goals, 44 points). Rookies Parayko and Edmundson will be tested severely in a series like this, but both have answered challenges all season.

EDGE: Blues

GOALTENDING

It’s tough to bet against Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (35-18-5, seven shutouts), who has made a living out of winning in the playoffs in recent years. Crawford dealt with an upper-body injury late this season that kept him out of action for all but one game, the regular-season finale, since mid-March. He allowed five goals in a 5-4 overtime loss to Columbus, showing he may be a bit human of late (and allowed 17 goals in his final five appearances) but he has stared down the white-hot scrutiny of the playoffs before. The same cannot be said for Blues goaltender Brian Elliott (23-8-6, four shutouts), who was rock solid during the regular season but stands 6-10 during his playoff career with a 2.54 goals-against average and .897 save percentage. This is a big opportunity for Elliott to grab this playoff opportunity and run with it.

EDGE: Blackhawks

INTANGIBLES

The Blues need to get their power play, which ranks sixth in the NHL, going quickly against a Chicago penalty kill unit that ranks only 22nd in the league. The Blues’ penalty kill unit will also get a workout against the league’s No 2 power-play and the always dangerous pair of Kane and Toews. In the tight-checking playoffs, scoring by defensemen could be huge and that’s one area the Blues could exploit if Shattenkirk, Pietrangelo and Parayko can contribute as they have during the season.

EDGE: Even

PREDICTION

It’s tempting to pick the Blues to finally end their first-round struggle, but will have to see it to believe it. Blackhawks in a seven-game thriller.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 10:08 PM with the headline "First things first: Blues meet Blackhawks trying to find a first-round success formula."