No doubt about it, this was an important one for the St. Louis Blues, and they easily handled the challenge.
And ... sure, the “challenge” was facing the lowly Colorado Avalanche, but the Blues made little mistake about it, cruising to a 3-0 win on Sunday.
Jake Allen made the 27-save shutout, ending a five-game losing streak for the Blues.
Paul Stastny’s 17th goal of the season ended up being the game-winner, Kyle Brodziak made it 2-0 early in the first period and Patrik Berglund scored his 18th of 2016-17 to push it to the final score of 3-0. The Avalanche didn’t threaten very often, either, as the two teams combined for just 52 shots on goal.
.@PaulyWalnuts26's biggest fan is also his littlest. ☺️ pic.twitter.com/u8wRurVLpA
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) March 6, 2017
The victory moves the needle in significant ways for St. Louis. They went one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for the final West wild card spot, also giving themselves a shot at chasing the Nashville Predators for third in the Central.
3. Predators - 73 points in 65 games played
Second wild card spot - 69 points in 64 GP
Kings - 68 points in 65 GP
Jets - 66 points in 66 GP
The Blues close out this three-game road trip in Minnesota on Tuesday, then they enjoy a back-to-back set at home. After that, it’s a five-game road trip from March 13-21.
Again, few will be impressed with beating the Avalanche, but the Blues really took care of business in the sort of contest that might be a “trap” game for a lazier team. They pretty much needed to do win this and they left little doubt.