The Blues have played exceedingly well in their two wins.
They either lead or are tied for the lead in all four offensive categories this postseason. Their goaltending has been far better than the paper tiger, Devan Dubnyk, who is between the Wild's pipes. Allen has a .953 save percentage. Dubnyk has a .864.
The moral of the story is clear: get shots on net. Don't let the Wild dictate the terms of play, and just shoot. Fire at will. The Blues, after losing momentum in game three, have siezed it in game four and if they don't let it go in game five, will return to Minnesota with a 3-2 series lead. They've shown that they can win on the road. This is doable.
This is also the Blues, but I will not poke at that bear for the moment. The Wild already have.
"We may have been a little cocky. We felt really good and rightfully so," left wing Zach Parise said. "We felt good about the way we played the last game. I don't know if we thought it was going to be an easy game or if we thought they were going to pack it in, but that wasn't the case at all."
The Wild will be upping their game tonight. The Blues need to counter with absolutely no complacency. I don't expect three goals in the first ten minutes again, but if the Blues pounce, and pounce quick, it may be difficult for the Wild to counter if St. Louis maintains that pressure through all three periods. There is no room for a period off tonight.
The lines may be different tonight. The effort needn't be.