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Game 3: Blues at Kings - The Heat Is On Both Teams |
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9:00pm Central start. If this goes past regulation, it's going to be a long night for Blues fans.
I hate to say Game 3 is a "must win" game for either side, but for the Kings it really is. Down 0-2 already, a loss tonight makes it 0-3 and gives the Blues even more momentum and confidence than they currently have. For the Blues, tonight can also be considered "must win" but for a different reason: if they can swipe tonight, they take a stranglehold on the series and can start going for the finish and some rest before the next round. In a series where everyone is expecting punishing physical play in every game, the sooner this series gets over the better.
What makes things even more interesting is what's going on in another series, though. With San Jose up 2-0 on Vancouver and headed home (where the Sharks went 17-2-5 this year), it sets up the possibility that the winner of the Blues-Kings series avoids Chicago in the 2nd round. That's not necessarily a bad thing for the Kings, but it would be perfect for the Blues (who would probably like to avoid the Hawks as long as possible). If the Red Wings pulled an upset on the Ducks, then it could mean whoever wins this series draws the Sharks in the next round - and both teams have reason to want that matchup.
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What do the Blues need to do to win tonight? Play desperate hockey. Up 2-0 in the series, they cannot afford to let off the gas; they have to come out with that "we gotta win this" mentality from start to finish. A couple more goals would help, and continued stellar play from Elliott would go a long way as well - but the bottom line is that the Blues can't give the Kings any reason to feel optimistic about getting back into this series.
What do the Kings need to do to win tonight? Just play hockey. The Kings can be physical, attack offensively, pressure defensively, and so on - but trying to intimidate with big physical hits and trying to stir the pot and goad the Blues into penalties? The Blues are fine with that, because it means the Kings aren't trying to score ... and ultimately, that plays into the hands of a low-scoring, defensive-minded team willing to grind it out and swap hits all over the ice. The Kings also need their best players to be their best players tonight; guys like Kopitar, Richards, and Brown have to play like they want to score and be effective instead of being invisible, going out of the way to throw hits, and generally doing stupid and selfish stuff.
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Live blog during the game; comments from those watching are welcome (and in fact encouraged).
St Louis Blues Blogger • 
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