ST. LOUIS - For a team that hasn't won a playoff game since 2004, the St. Louis Blues will take every edge they can find as they prepare for postseason play.
And that starts with finishing with the top seed in the Western Conference, something that would assure the Blues home-ice advantage for the first three rounds of the playoffs.
Having home-ice advantage is a simple goal for any team. But for a Blues team that set a franchise record with 30 home wins and is 30-4-4 in 38 games at Scottrade Center, guaranteeing them the extra home game each series means a little more.
"That for sure would be nice from that standpoint, just to get that top spot and get the most home ice advantage as possible," said forward David Perron. "Knowing how good we are at home, it would be key for sure."
The Blues have lost just four of 38 home games in regulation, an almost ridiculous stat. Winning has become expected and assumed on home ice, regardless of the opponent or situation.
Regardless of the score or time of game, the Blues and their fans know that at some point, they'll get the goal or goals they need to win the game. And as they prepare for just their second trip to the playoffs in the past eight years, that confidence could be huge.
The Blues currently lead the Detroit Red Wings by eight points with five games to play in the Central Division race. With that all but locked up at this point, the Blues should guarantee themselves no worse than the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
But they are also two points up on the Vancouver Canucks for the top spot in the West, and finishing ahead of them would be huge should the two teams eventually meet in the Western Conference Finals.
"I think the players are focused on it now because we've been here for a little while, we've earned it and we want to keep it," said coach Ken Hitchcock. "I think from our coaches standpoint, home ice might be the littlest edge that you get that you might need.
"I just think it's so competitive. We played teams out west and I didn't see anybody playing as well as L.A. was playing. I thought L.A. was the best team I'd seen for a long time. Now San Jose is dialed up to where everybody thought they were. If that's the type of team were looking at, it's going to be a hard, difficult series, it doesn't matter the seed. Any time you can get home ice for one or two series or whatever, it's really advantageous I think."
The Blues were quiet at the trade deadline, trading goalie prospect Ben Bishop to the Ottawa Senators for an upcoming draft choice. But that doesn't mean they didn't receive reinforcements.
Forward Alex Steen recently returned after missing 39 games with a concussion and 19-year-old Jaden Schwartz has two goals in five games since joining the Blues straight from Colorado College.
Matt D'Agostini just got cleared to play after missing 25 games with a concussion and both Andy McDonald and Roman Polak are both nearing returns from injuries as well.
Entering Thursday's game in Chicago, the Blues are tied with the New York Rangers for the top overall spot in the NHL with 105 points. And they are about to get even better, making them that much more dangerous come April.
"I think our first motivation is just to be playing well and we feel if we do that, we'll end up in the top spot," said forward Jamie Langenbrunner. "Obviously Vancouver is right there on our heels and Detroit and Nashville are there, but we can control it and we just want to keep playing good hockey and keep getting better and keep getting healthy and keep moving forward."
The Blues are searching for their first Presidents Trophy since the 1999-2000 season, when they notched a franchise-record 114 points. They would need to win their final five games to eclipse that mark.
The math is quite simple. If the Blues finish with the best record in the league, they would assure themselves home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Under that scenario, the Blues would guarantee themselves the Stanley Cup should they just win all their home games.
And for a team that's 30-4-4 at home, that doesn't seem too ridiculous.
"I think that has to be a goal," said goalie Brian Elliott. "When it comes down to it, it would be huge for positioning yourself going into the playoffs."
