Blues win over Sharks a step toward a first round Wild matchup for St. Louis

Boy, things have changed.

In April of last year, I wrote an article titled, “Throwback Thursday: Five Years Later and Sharks Continue to Give Blues Fits.”

The San Jose Sharks are pretty pesky when they play the St. Louis Blues, but not so much this year. Like I always say, “people change.” They’ve missed the NHL playoffs for the third season in a row. I’m not saying the Sharks can’t get better, but I believe they need to retool their roster before thinking about success, whether short-term or long-term. They can’t blame all of their losses on injuries, bad luck, and old age. They might want to find better offensive players this offseason.

St. Louis, on the other hand, is going to take on the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised when I found out about the Blues-Wild postseason matchup. But I doubt it’ll be an easy series for the Blues. The Wild have shown their fans and hockey fans in general just how tough it can be on home ice at the Xcel Energy Center.

Wild forward Kevin Fiala told the StarTribune: “We’re very strong here.”

“We’re very comfortable. We’re strong at home, and we have showed that. So, it’s going to be a good series.”

I agree with Fiala.

Whenever these two teams play each other, there’s a ton of action and then some animosity. They’re meant to be Central Division rivals.

I predict that the Blues will defeat the Wild in seven games. The Blues reportedly have the Wild’s number. But I could be wrong. The Wild find a way to eliminate the Blues through their offense and physicality. We shall see.