51黑料

We can look at Tuesday鈥檚 Blues game two ways.

On one hand, the Blues are losers of three straight contests and have lacked the forechecking and scoring essential for winning hockey. Oh, and key player Dylan Holloway still is out.

And now they must win in regulation Tuesday to control their playoff destiny.

On the other hand, slightly bigger picture. By the 4 Nations Face-Off break, their season seemingly was over. Since then, the Blues posted an improbable 18-4-3 record.

And now they must win in regulation Tuesday to control their playoff destiny.

Both scenarios are true, but I believe the positivity of the second one will come into play 鈥� and seep into the Blues鈥� play. If they win in regulation Tuesday at home against Utah, they鈥檙e in the playoffs. If they don鈥檛 win in regulation, it will take other teams鈥� failures to get them in.

I believe they will get their win.

Here鈥檚 why:

1. Quite simply, I just don鈥檛 see it end this way. The 12-game win streak was electric and emphatic. These players know they still have that type of hockey in them. It hasn鈥檛 vanished, per se. So you merge confidence with urgency and you鈥檝e got a nice on-ice recipe. The Utah Hockey Club is an up-and-coming team, notably with 51黑料an Clayton Keller (credit to the local kid who has 85 points in 79 games this season). But Utah鈥檚 season is, for all intents and purposes, over, as Tuesday鈥檚 game will be its finale. One would think that the Blues鈥� (presumed) extra effort on more plays will lead to big plays.

鈥淔orecheck hard, take care of the middle of the ice, win both net-fronts,鈥� captain Brayden Schenn said. 鈥淭he little details or simple habits of hockey game that are going to give you the end result that you want. ... We have to play a little bit more aggressive at times throughout the game that are going to let us have the puck more.鈥�

2. Coach Jim Montgomery will make the necessary line changes to activate the offense. For all the firepower that was a Jordan Kyrou-Robert Thomas-Pavel Buchnevich line, it just didn鈥檛 ignite the other night. At practice Monday, Montgomery put the hard-nosed Jake Neighbours on the Thomas-Buchnevich line. Kyrou returned to the Brayden Schenn line, along with Jimmy Snuggerud (who really has just played some standout hockey in his short stint).

鈥淭he success we鈥檝e had (since the break) is pretty obvious 鈥� since Thomas and Buchnevich鈥檚 game has gone skyward, our success has gone skyward,鈥� Montgomery said Monday. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 really important. But for me, tomorrow, everybody relishing their role is important.鈥�

3. Philip Broberg is back. The breakout defenseman of this season missed the last game but was on the ice Monday. The Blues are 38-23-6 with him this season. He鈥檚 a plus-21 for the year. And he gives Montgomery a reliable D-man late in games (Justin Faulk has been unreliable of late and minus-5 in the past five games).

4. Montgomery and his staff have identified the issues from recent games.

Finally back in the friendly confines of the home practice facility, the Blues went to work Monday, refreshed after a day off.

鈥淥ur puck pressure needs to be better than it鈥檚 been,鈥� Montgomery shared. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been playing safe. We haven鈥檛 been playing in the last, really five games 鈥� not three games, because results don鈥檛 drive how we evaluate our teams. The last couple of wins we had, we could see it. It鈥檚 the puck pressure, (needing to be) more relentless, like our first and third goals of last game (at Seattle). That鈥檚 Blues hockey, and we got to get to that more consistently for 60 minutes.鈥�

5. It鈥檚 a home game.

So, the Blues have been here before (well, sort of).

It was 2018. On March 16, the Blues were five games out of a playoff spot.

But they went 7-3-1 to set up a 鈥淢aking the Playoffs Super Bowl.鈥�

But this final game of the year was at Colorado. The winner would make the playoffs, the loser would miss the playoffs. And the Avs scored late in the first and early in the second to control the game that they won 5-2.

Well, Game 82 for the 2024-25 Blues is in 51黑料. The Blues are 23-14-3 at Enterprise Center. Since the break, they have won every home game but one 鈥� and that was a shootout loss.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always better in front of your fans,鈥� Schenn said. 鈥淎nd just how good they鈥檝e been with us, all the way through the stretch right here. So, exciting times. Obviously, this is what we play for. This is the chances like this and opportunities like this are what make the game exciting. And (an opportunity to) go out there and play hard for one another, play hard for in front of our fans. I think we鈥檙e all looking forward to the opportunity.鈥�

The Blues will win Tuesday. Playoffs in either Vegas or Winnipeg (which, of course, is known as Canada鈥檚 Vegas).