NBCSN continues its coverage of the 2013-14 campaign tonight when the St. Louis Blues host the Washington Capitals at the Scottrade Center at 8:00 p.m. ET. In addition to NBCSN, you can also watch the game online.
Washington has been all-but eliminated from the playoff race and realistically, winning tonight won’t change much. For at least one player though, this game is very important.
Jaroslav Halak was looking forward to the opportunity to prove his critics wrong and lead the Blues in their postseason run. St. Louis didn’t want to take that chance though and instead packaged him in a deal to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for goaltender Ryan Miller. Halak’s stint with the Sabres was brief as Washington acquired him.
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“Obviously, I wasn’t happy when I got traded (by St. Louis),” Halak told CSN Washington.
“You’re trying to build something with the team. You try to play well for them and then you get traded.”
Halak would like the opportunity to face them and while it’s not guaranteed that it will happen, it is probable. Regardless of who starts for Washington though, St. Louis needs to be at its best.
The Blues are in the running for the Presidents’ Trophy, but more importantly, they want to enter the playoffs on a high note. St. Louis lost back-to-back games against Colorado and Chicago over the weekend, which, as goalie Brian Elliott put it, should serve as a “wake-up call.”
Among other things, their offense hasn’t been clicking lately as they’ve scored just six goals in regulation over their last five games. In contrast to Washington, the Blues’ offense is built around depth rather than star power, but when the team isn’t scoring there’s no one player that can be looked at to snap them out of it. As Elliott emphasized, this is a team that needs to put it all together to be successful.
In some ways, this can be seen as a tuneup game for St. Louis, but for Halak and a Capitals’ team that still wants to believe they can make the playoffs, this contest is so much more.