:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69240848/1232676846.0.jpg)
The Blues hold a five point lead over the Arizona Coyotes with three games in hand. A win against the Ducks will put the Blues up seven points, obviously (we all know how the points system works), but an Arizona win against the Los Angeles Kings will be enough to punch the Blues’ ticket to the postseason.
The Blues can clinch a playoff spot in the West Division tonight.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) May 5, 2021
To do so, they need a victory over Anaheim and an Arizona win in regulation over LA. The Coyotes and Kings play at 9 p.m. CT. #stlblues
Wait, the Coyotes need to win? Playoff positioning math is weird.
From there, the Blues can focus on... trying to figure out if they’d prefer to play Colorado or Vegas in the first round, because it’s impossible they’ll catch the Wild with a 15 point gap between the two teams and only six Blues games remaining.
Still, it will be a relief to not have to worry about whether or not the Blues will be making the postseason. At the start of the season, that the Blues would advance was a foregone conclusion to many fans and probably players as well. The team’s injury problems and stumbles down the stretch were a reality check, and it’s starting to look like they’ve learned their lesson. With points in six games, the playoff Blues may be back.
Anaheim will not be going to the post-season, and two notable vets on their squad are calling it quits. Well, one certainly, one speculatively. The Ryan Miller retirement tour is underway, and he got a nice reception Monday night from the fans at Enterprise. He probably won’t be in tonight. David Backes, who may or may not be retiring (but who honestly probably should) may get slotted into the lineup tonight to give him one more chance to play in front of his old fans. The Ducks have nothing to lose, and it’d be a quality gesture toward a class player and a former Blue who is still beloved. It’s hard not to miss a guy who played 727 games for your franchise.
The Blues are 5-1-1 against the Ducks this season. Not every game has been easy, but in every win there’s been a point where the Blues clearly took hold of the momentum and didn’t let go. Monday night it was on Robert Bortuzzo’s first goal of the season. The goal broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Blues some push to put the game away.
Hopefully they’ll have that push to put their playoff questions to bed tonight as well.