A pair of convincing bounce-back wins keep Blues' confidence on point
ST. LOUIS -- This postseason, the St. Louis Blues have already accomplished what they couldn't against all Chicago's warriors and all the Kings' men two years running.
They proved they can rebound.
Not in the second-chance-with-the-puck way, but in the emotional, Taylor Swift-turn-rejection-into-a-top-selling-single way. A 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild in Game 1? The Blues respond with a 4-1 performance in Game 2, including a three-goal night by Vladimir Tarasenko, the first hat trick by any NHL player this postseason. A 3-0 shutout loss to the Wild in Game 3? That, apparently, incensed the Blues even more. They put up six goals in Game 4 in Minnesota and chased one of the league's hottest goaltenders. It was clear early in that game the Blues hadn't just come to play -- they'd come to win.
"We got the sense yesterday," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock told reporters after the Game 4 victory. "We knew how we were going to play yesterday."
Someone asked why he thought that.
"It's between us and the players," Hitchcock responded to reporters.
Blues forward T.J. Oshie echoed that confidence Wednesday morning, providing a peek into the Blues' psyche entering Game 4.
"No one is hanging their heads whatsoever," he told reporters. "We learned from our mistakes from the last game, and I'm confident we'll be better tonight."
It was an interesting response from a team that played much of Game 3 on its heels, unable to score, in a performance that vastly underserved its potential and had fans rightly upset. But Oshie's quote revealed a team that didn't allow itself to get flustered. Instead, it got even.
What makes this unique for the Blues is that, in the past two postseasons, a loss is the one thing they weren't able to overcome. They went up 2-0 in their first-round series twice, but once they dropped one game, they never recovered. Instead, their opponents -- the Los Angeles Kings in 2013 and the Chicago Blackhawks in '14 -- embarked on a four-game victory streak. While multiple variables may have played into those losses (such as injuries), the fact remains that once the Blues lost Game 3 the past two postseasons, recovery proved impossible.
This year, with the series now tied at 2-2, it's proving the opposite.
Of course, no one plays just to be a good rebound team. Now that the Blues have tied the series, their bigger challenge is to keep their performance consistent, rather than let it slip again.
"We've just got to stop this trend of every other game and play the same way in our building on Friday," captain David Backes told reporters Wednesday.
Still, their newfound talent to rebound in the postseason will be important. While in theory it would be great to never experience another playoff loss, the reality is that probably won't happen, and how quickly a team rebounds could be the difference between a first-round exit and a deep playoff run. With their rebound game strong, the Blues look poised to reverse recent history and make it out of this first-round series. If that happens, it's doubtful anyone will hold the missteps of Games 1 and 3 against them.
Such is the power of the rebound.
You can follow Elisabeth Meinecke on Twitter at @lismeinecke or email her at ecmeinecke@gmail.com.
