The Blues are in the driver's seat

A decade?Not quite. They missed the playoffs 5 of the last 6 years.And why such a small sample size? I like to look at it and say we've been competitive/very good and made the playoffs 26 of the last 31 years. No, there isn't much to show for it...but they were a lot of fun to watch.

And saying so and so "sucks" is part of the game. It's just how it is. And ummm, I'll let you in on something...saying "Detroit Sucks" or "Vancouver Sucks" doesn't mean we think they are actually a bad hockey team. Does that even need to be said?? Come on.

Man, you must have been the last picked kid in gym class growing up eh? The back to back to back replies in this thread on another teams forum just screams "Validate Me!" ... so I will. Yeah bud, the Blues are among the best teams in the NHL right now but until they've won a cup or at least reached the finals the fanbase really shouldn't get that excited. You don't have to go back too far to see that a stellar regular season doesn't necessarily translate into a deep playoff run. The Blues have made the Playoffs with pretty good regularity - unfortunately they have never won the cup which puts them into that hazy lump of teams (ala Vancouver, Buffalo, St Louis, Washington) that have been good, bad, had great regular seasons - BUT, manage to consistently let their fan bases down again and again.

Detroit fan living in St. Louis
"To whom much is given, much is expected."
"Play them six times, they might win four, but not this game. Not tonight."
"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

Looking at the upcoming schedule, the Blues play Columbus twice in two days. Home on Saturday and away on Sunday. Our Bluejacket buddies better play their hearts out or St. Louis could quickly pull away.

Looking at the upcoming schedule, the Blues play Columbus twice in two days. Home on Saturday and away on Sunday. Our Bluejacket buddies better play their hearts out or St. Louis could quickly pull away.

CBJ has won 4 in a row so at least they are playing a little bit better.

The Blues have 7 road games in a road starting to day, and 8 out of their next 9 on the road. They win a good chunk of those, then they might be in the driver's seat.

Right now, I haven't seen any team even leaving the garage yet.

The Blues have a "2 game lead" with 13 games left to play. It's certainly possible for us to catch them. We have 6 road games left, they have 9. Our road point % is 0.471. There's is 0.516. As far as who they play versus who we play, I don't think that it matters at this time of the year. There are many teams "on the bubble" that are playing desperate. We see it every March. Any team really can beat any team this time of year.

We are at a disadvantage because of the injuries. If we can win 2 of the 3 games on the coast and the Blues drop at least 1 in the same time period, we will have a chance because we will have kept the lead to 4 points or less and will have got back our two best players. If their lead makes it to 6 points, I don't think we will catch them.

It is the way the Blues are winning that scares me. Their defense is just absolutely shutting everyone down and their goaltending is phenomenal... true sign of a champion.... and this has been going on for the last three months. If you are hoping for St. Louis to lose you are barking up the wrong tree. Howie hasn't been the same since his first injury. The Blues' GA is 28 less than Detroit's and 11 less than Lundqvist and Biron.

The Blues would not be fun in a 7 game series.... if they don't win the 7 game series they will put a heavy dent in their opponents chance of winning the cup.... the series would be brutal and the winner will come out limping.... "Road to the cup".

The thing is no one knows what will happen. The Blues are a good team but the Red Wings can beat them. It is not as if the Blues are another version of the '77 Habs team. If the Wings are healthy then I think they are better and more experienced team. I think we have more skill and more depth and better goaltending. However, while the Wings can beat any team, they can also lose to any team. I am not going to fear the Blues or the Preds or any team. Play the games and may the best team win. Period.

Honestly, I'm loving the Central these days. The last month of the season was always boring because the Wings had the Central locked and did nothing but coast into the playoffs.
Personally, and I know I'm in the minority, I can't stand Hitchcock, but you can't argue with what he's done for the Blues. I don't think I've ever seen a coach make such an immediate and positive impact on a team. Bravo!
Are the Blues in the driver's seat? It's possible, but probably not so much at this point. I'd just like to see that this upswing lasts more than this season. The defense will not play like a wall forever, and how many goaltenders have we seen get hot going into the playoffs and then fizzle pretty much for good?

Can't wait to read the "Phoenix: I still think it's a hockey market" chapter of Gary Bettman's autobiography. I'm guessing it's going to be chapter 11.

Honestly, I'm loving the Central these days. The last month of the season was always boring because the Wings had the Central locked and did nothing but coast into the playoffs. Personally, and I know I'm in the minority, I can't stand Hitchcock, but you can't argue with what he's done for the Blues. I don't think I've ever seen a coach make such an immediate and positive impact on a team. Bravo!Are the Blues in the driver's seat? It's possible, but probably not so much at this point. I'd just like to see that this upswing lasts more than this season. The defense will not play like a wall forever, and how many goaltenders have we seen get hot going into the playoffs and then fizzle pretty much for good?

Captain Crunch was a pick of mine as an assistant or defensive coach as you knew already and were against, but he would not of taken a demotion, so that dream never materialize...

Central is entertaining again and it may give the boys in Red/White the push they need to reach deep down and play like they can.... Hitch knows D but do not know if the Blues can keep pace, it will be interesting to see what happens.

I can't believe people are fearing the blues... Playoffs are a whole different story, just look at the Ducks from a few years back, just like the Blues they were insane coming down the stretch and I believe they maybe won 1 playoff series that year

Also remember when everyone was in the lineup for us we were the best team in the league... Period

In a 7 game series, there is no doubt in my mind we would beat the blues and it would take no more than 6 games.... Bring on the Playoffs, I'm pumped