Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues Preview, Score & Results

Frank Doyle has previews and predictions for all of the NHL playoffs’ opening-round series. This time he breaks down the Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues. Check out all of Sports Interaction’s NHL Stanley Cup odds here.

 Odds: Chicago Blackhawks -139, St. Louis Blues -100

Chicago Blackhawks:

The reigning Stanley Cup champions suffer two major injury scares when captain Jonathan Toews and sniper Patrick Kane hit the shelf late in the regular season. The good news is they’ll be back for Game 1. The Blackhawks were dominant before the injury bug hit and know what it takes to survive the playoff marathon. They have more offence than they know what to do with among their top six forwards and when it comes to defence, there may not be a better unit in the NHL with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya. The Blackhawks aren’t the most physical team in the playoffs, but it’s hard to beat them when they have the puck all night too. Chicago ranked second in the NHL scoring 3.2 goals per game and fourth allowing just 27.2 shots a night.

St. Louis Blues:

If only the playoffs had started a couple of weeks earlier for the Blues. St. Louis cruised at or near the top of the NHL standings for most of the season but now heads into this tough first-round matchup with a laundry list of injuries. Vladimir Tarasenko is out indefinitely, meanwhile David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Brenden Morrow, Patrik Berglund, and Vladimir Sobotka are all banged up and could miss at least the beginning of this series. That means at least four of the Blues’ top six forwards are beginning the postseason at less than 100 percent. St. Louis has a tremendous defence and will need it early on but staying out of penalty trouble will be extremely important. The Blues try to wear down their opposition with their size. Now, with all the injuries, they’ll have to be very careful not to get into a special teams battle with Chicago.

Other NHL playoffs series previews and picks:

Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars

New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche

San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings

Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues

Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings

Key factors:

You have to be a little concerned about how Ryan Miller played down the stretch. He’ll need to be in top form to give the Blues a chance. St. Louis brought him in to win games in this kind of situation, so this is a big test before he’s a free agent in the offseason.

Prediction:

This one comes down to experience and injuries. The Blues may just be too banged up to keep up with Chicago’s skill. St. Louis may need to have a lot of young forwards playing above their heads against the Blackhawks’ well-oiled machine. Chicago is a club that doesn’t hesitate when it smells blood in the water.

Pick: Chicago Blackhawks win in six games.

Results:

Game 1: 4-3 St. Louis (OT)

Game 2: 4-3 St. Louis (OT)

Game 3: 2-0 Chicago

Game 4: 4-3 Chicago (OT)

Game 5: 3-2 Chicago (OT)

Game 6: 5-1 Chicago