BLUES at WILD
TV: NBCSN, SN360, TVA Sports 3, FS-MW, FS-N
Minnesota leads best-of-7 series 2-1
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild expect the St. Louis Blues to bring their best effort Wednesday in Game 4 of their Western Conference First Round series.
The Wild's 3-0 win Monday was impressive in all facets and Minnesota would love nothing more than a duplicate or near-duplicate effort.
Minnesota limited St. Louis to 17 shots on goal in Game 3 and played close to a perfect hockey game. Wild coach Mike Yeo was asked about Minnesota’s dominance and he quickly shot it down.
"It wasn't dominant," Yeo said. "We played a good game, and I'll keep it at that. I liked our start, and I liked the way we reacted even though we weren't able to grab the lead. But it was a 2-0 game and we ended up scoring an empty-net goal. Again, I wouldn't say that that was dominant."
The Wild can put the Blues on the brink of elimination, with Game 5 to be played in St. Louis on Friday.
"I think that this is an experienced group over there" Yeo said Tuesday of the Blues. "They'll collect themselves today, and I certainly would not expect them to carry anything of what happened last game into the next one. I think they did a good job of responding in Game 2 of the series (to tie it 1-1), and I would expect them to collect themselves tomorrow as well."
The Blues are pleased to have allowed five goals in the series without counting the three empty-net goals. But St. Louis has scored five goals in the series and needs more from its top players, including David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Alex Pietrangelo and Paul Stastny, who have no points in three games.
"Well, that's the conversation that every coach usually has, but it's a little bit deeper than that," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We're playing a team that's played the best hockey in the League since the goalie change (to Devan Dubnyk) and everybody is trying to catch up to them. I knew they were playing like this when we came in here and got beat right at the end of the regular season. It was our first experience at watching them play. They're on top of their game and it's our job to catch up."
Pietrangelo said the Blues can't afford to settle into the game and must initiate and dictate from the puck drop.
"We’ve got to match their intensity," Pietrangelo said. "We’ve got to start taking control of the game earlier, taking control of the game the way we can and not let their best players dictate the play. I think we’ve got to be a little bit harder on their best players."
That includes Minnesota’s line of Zach Parise, Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund, who have combined for 11 points in three games. The rest of the Wild has 10 points combined.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Wild were built around speed.
Playing smart has been, and will continue to be, an equally important factor in their success in this playoff series against St. Louis.
The Blues are at their best with a grinding, combative style, and their attempts to goad the Wild into the rough stuff have so far fallen flat.
"We're always talking about it," Wild defenseman Ryan Suter said. "When something happens, you want to do something. We've made a thing in here, that you just smile and go have a good shift the next time out."
The Wild played a penalty-free Game 3 and beat the Blues 3-0 to take the lead in this Western Conference quarterfinal matchup.
Blues center Steve Ott has been at the forefront of the agitation, accumulating 22 penalty minutes, the second-most in the NHL playoffs. The Wild's disciplined response, though, has left their opponent as the one mired in frustration.
"Anger, disappointment, all the natural stuff," said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, asked on Tuesday after practice about his team's emotions in defeat the night before.
"There's so much at stake in the playoffs. That's what makes it so much fun. But it's a pretty resilient group we've got here. We have to recognize not so much what they're doing to us, but what we're doing to ourselves. That's the adjustment that we have to make."
The Wild have the 2-1 edge largely because they've avoided adjusting. That's their Game 4 plan for Wednesday, too.
"We're not going to make a ton of changes here. It won't be anything that's going to take ourselves out of what we do and what we think we do best," coach Mike Yeo said.
"I think the biggest thing for us is just making sure we're focused on ourselves, focused on our start. Again, feed off the crowd."
The Wild's first line of wings Zach Parise and Jason Pominville and center Mikael Granlund were the stars on Monday, as Yeo used the home team's advantage on shift changes to avoid matchups with the best checkers from the Blues.
St. Louis' skill line of Alexander Steen, Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko was on the ice for all three goals by Minnesota in Game 3.
"Well, I'm looking for it, but Mike won't give it to me," Hitchcock said, joking about the matchups. "We've got a little bit of an issue. I'll have to talk to him about that."
Said Blues captain David Backes: "They're dynamite on the rush. They've shown that all series."
The Wild have won three of the eight playoff series they've played in their history, but they've never held a 3-1 lead.
They've played well as the underdog in the past, but their ability to maintain momentum will be tested. So will their focus.
"I certainly would not expect them to carry anything of what happened last game into the next one," Yeo said of the Blues. "I think they did a good job of responding in Game 2 of the series, and I would expect them to collect themselves tomorrow as well."
Ott has become the public enemy of Wild fans for his antics, but both teams have largely dismissed his impact on the action. The crux of the story so far has been the Wild being too fast and too disciplined for the Blues.
"They've got a lot of team speed. They've got a lot of agility, so we have to play a game that's different than theirs," Hitchcock said.
"And when we get them in our game, it's extremely difficult for them. But when they get loose, they're awful good."
Game 4 of the Blues’ first-round playoff series vs. Minnesota on Wednesday, April 22, will air on FOX Sports Midwest in the St. Louis market and on DirecTV, Dish and AT&T U-verse.
Outside the St. Louis market, Game 4 will air on FOX Sports Midwest Plus and/or NBC Sports Network. It will also be joined in progress on FOX Sports Midwest after the Cardinals’ game at Washington.
The radio broadcast for Game 4 will be available on Y98 FM.
Wednesday, April 22
Blues Live pregame show at 8 p.m. CT, Blues at Wild at 8:30 p.m. CT
St. Louis area: on FOX Sports Midwest
On AT&T U-verse, DirecTV and Dish: on FOX Sports Midwest
Outside St. Louis: on FOX Sports Midwest Plus and/or NBCSN
Downstate Illinois: on FOX Sports Midwest Plus and NBCSN
FOX Sports Midwest Plus channel numbers:
Cass -- Virginia, Ill.: SD 8 | HD 197
Comcast – Illinois: SD 524 | HD 520
Mediacom -- Williamson, Ill.: SD 22
New Wave -- DuQuoin, Olney, Newton, Ill.: SD 80 | HD 208
New Wave -- Anna, Ill.: SD 2
Southeast Missouri: on FOX Sports Midwest Plus and NBCSN
FOX Sports Midwest Plus channel numbers:
New Wave – Poplar Bluff: SD 80
Note: Charter in Southeast Missouri will receive the Blues game on FOX Sports Midwest and Cardinals game on FOX Sports Midwest Plus
Mid-Missouri, Southwest Missouri, Iowa and Southwest Indiana: on NBCSN
Kansas City: on FOX Sports Plus and NBCSN
FOX Sports Plus channel numbers:
Charter -- Warrensburg, Sedalia, Mo. 10 or 198
Citizens Cablevision -- Lafayette, Mo. 57 (HD 257)
Comcast – Independence, Mo. 261 or 863 (HD 863)
Comcast – Olathe, Kan. 261 or 863 (HD 863)
Fidelity -- Harrisonville, Mo. 36
Mediacom -- Excelsior Springs, Mo. 732
South Holt Cablevision -- Holt, Mo. 85
Suddenlink - St. Joseph, Mo. 20
Surewest -- Lenexa, Kan. 66
Time Warner – Kansas City, Mo./Kan. 5
WOW -- Lawrence, Kan. 172
Central Indiana: on FOX Sports Plus and NBCSN
FOX Sports Plus channel numbers:
Cinergy Metronet -- Greencastle, Ind.: SD 263 | HD 263
Comcast – Indianapolis, Ind.: SD 81
Comcast – Fort Wayne, Ind.: SD 9 | HD 1681
New Wave -- Orange, Ind. 80, 102.5 (HD 208)
Endeaver/Clay County -- Indianapolis, Ind.: SD 28
Mediacom – Auburn, Ind.: SD 126
New Wave – Knox, Orange, Pike, Ind.: SD 80 or 102.5 | HD 208
NineStar Connect: SD 128
Smithville Telco – Indianapolis, Ind.: SD 50 | HD 650
Washington County: SD 103 | HD 1103
