CHICAGO -- The similarities might haunt a more pessimistic St. Louis Blues fan. They might even force an optimistic fan to rethink his positivity.

Last year, matched up in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis took a 2-0 series lead with Alexander Steen scoring the winner in Game 1 and Barret Jackman playing the hero in Game 2.

The same thing happened this year in Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference First Round against the Chicago Blackhawks, the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Ramsay: Blues' PP must get puck down low

For additional insight into the Stanley Cup Playoff series between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, NHL.com has enlisted the help of former NHL coach Craig Ramsay to break down the action. Ramsay will be checking in throughout the series.

Ramsay played in more than 1,000 NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres before going on to coach the Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Atlanta Thrashers. In the 2000 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he led the Flyers to the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Final. Ramsay was most recently an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers.

CHICAGO -- The St. Louis Blues are struggling to score on the power play against the Chicago Blackhawks because they're relying too much on the outside shot instead of funneling pucks low and toward the net, longtime NHL coach Craig Ramsay told NHL.com.

"They're relying on a single-concept power play, which is get it to the point and shoot it, or get it from the point to the half-wall and shoot it," Ramsay said. "So they're looking at 45- and 50-foot shots and hoping for some miracle shot, but I don't see them with that guy, that big-time shooter. Chicago has recognized that and they're just flexing out. They're not ever afraid. They can take a penalty and they don't get scared."

The Blues are 2-for-23 on the power play in the Western Conference First Round series, which Chicago leads 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS).

St. Louis' problems were evident early in Game 5 on Friday, when it had two man-advantage opportunities within the first 10 minutes but never threatened from in front of the net. Chicago goalie Corey Crawford had to stop only one of the Blues' eight shot attempts on the power play. Four attempts were blocked and three others missed the net.

"The low guy never looked to the net, never took it to the net, never tried to pass through the crease, never tried any single thing to make Chicago come down," Ramsay said. "There is no threat. If in fact you think your power play scores from out high, then you must show them something down low. You must threaten them with a low play to make them respect you and sag. If you can't get them to sag, then penalty killers just giggle.

"St. Louis just has fallen in love with one concept, so they have to make a little switch."

Ramsay said it is an easy switch to make before Game 6.

"Imagine this: They throw it low to the goal line and [David] Backes walks out, or they throw it low and [Jaden] Schwartz or [Vladimir] Tarasenko walks out with Backes in front," Ramsay said. "You now have a 2-on-1 with a chance to score, and you've created fear in the Chicago Blackhawks.

Ramsay said the Blackhawks will react if the Blues do more with the puck down low.

"You don't have to break people, but you have to show them something else," he said. "They just refuse. They want to use that high-shot, tip-rebound game. They can't keep doing the same thing and expect it to suddenly be better."

-- Dan Rosen

MORE RAMSAY ANALYSIS:

• Blues must shut down Toews line
• Leddy can help overcome loss of Seabrook
• Fine line for Blues defending stretch pass
• Blues need to start fast against Blackhawks

Game 4 in Los Angeles was tight, but the Blues lost 4-3. Game 4 in Chicago was tight, but the Blues lost 4-3 in overtime.

The Blues went home tied 2-2 with the Kings and lost Game 5 in overtime, 3-2. They went home tied 2-2 with the Blackhawks and lost Game 5 in overtime, 3-2.

The Blues were eliminated in Game 6 against the Kings. The Blues are hoping the similarities end there, with Game 6 against the Blackhawks on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

"Everybody is probably writing, 'Here they go again. They're challenging the top teams, but can they get through the top teams?'" Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Saturday. "Everybody is going to write that stuff. But we have a chance to write the message that you guys have to print, so it's in our control. ... And I want to see us embrace this.

"Yeah, we're knocking on the door and we're knocking hard, but we've got to push through. Just can't keep pushing up against the wall. We've got a real opportunity to push through the wall here. I want to see our players take advantage of this."

Here are five ways the Blues can take advantage of the situation and force the series back to St. Louis for Game 7 on Tuesday:

1. Start on time

It sounds so obvious. What team doesn't want to get off to a strong start? It doesn't matter if it's the regular season or the playoffs, at home or on the road, a strong start can go a long way toward a positive result.

The problem for the Blues is they have been better in this series when they've been trailing. Four of the five games have gone to overtime, and the Blues have had to overcome regulation deficits in all four.

That's a sign the Blues haven't had good starts, and that's not a recipe for long-term success in a best-of-7 series. Hitchcock knows it. He made it a major talking point Saturday.

"It seems like we play with more composure when we get down a goal," Hitchcock said. "I want to see us play with composure and that compete level earlier in the game, rather than a third of the way through the game. That, for me, is a big challenge for us moving forward, to show that competitive composure earlier in the games so that we can maintain our game and eliminate some of the chances for them."

Hitchcock said the Blues are in trouble if they try to match the Blackhawks scoring chance for scoring chance.

"It's hard to dig yourself out of a hole every game," he said. "And we've been chasing every game for the last three or four games. That wears you down after a while. For us, you like our spirit, you love our heart, you love everything that goes on with it, but I want to see us playing better early, and then that gives us a real fighting chance to win a hockey game."

2. Put some finish on it

The Blues couldn't ask for better chances to win Game 5 before Jonathan Toews scored on his breakaway in overtime.

St. Louis had 2-on-1s, even a 3-on-1, wide-open shots from the circles and the high slot. They had everything but a finishing touch.

Against the Blackhawks, who usually have a man back to avoid giving up odd-man rushes, blowing chances like they did Friday is something the Blues just can't do. And it's a double failure when you know that the Blackhawks are one of the best finishing teams in the NHL.

"If you've got to fall through the net, that's what's got to happen this time of the year," Blues forward T.J. Oshie said.

3. Miller in the getaway car

"Crawford, for me, he hit the home run in the third game," Hitchcock said.

St. Louis goaltender Ryan Miller has to knock one out of the park Sunday. He hasn't stolen a game in this series, and the Blues might not win another one if he doesn't.

Miller has a .911 save percentage and a 2.32 goals-against average. He has allowed three or more goals in four of the five games. He allowed one goal in Game 3, but that was Crawford's night.

"We're probably going to have to steal a game to bring this thing back, so he's going to have to be part of the steal," Hitchcock said. "He's going to have to be one of the robbers. He's going to have to be a big player for us. We know that, he knows that."

4. Do something, anything, on the power play

The Blues had two power-play chances within the first 10 minutes of Game 5. Not only did they fail to score, but they failed to generate any momentum.

It was two of several missed opportunities St. Louis had to win the game.

Not scoring on the power play is one thing, and it happens to even the best teams 75-80 percent of the time. But if a team can't swing the momentum in its favor for the next several shifts to follow the man advantage, then it's a total loss.

That's the only way to view the Blues power plays in Game 5.

The power play has been a problem for each team all series, but the Blues have had more opportunities. St. Louis' power play is 2-for-23 and averaging 1.47 shots per opportunity in the series.

Credit the Blackhawks for getting in the shooting lanes and blocking shots, particularly with one of the two high forwards (usually Michal Handzus), but the Blues need to have more of a plan to get their structure on the power play.

5. Check to make a play

The Blues don't have to be a big hitting team to be a big physical team. They're at their best when they check the puck back. They're vulnerable when they chase a hit.

"Chasing contact against Chicago works for a little while, but you learn to play through it," Hitchcock said. "I thought [Friday] some of their top players played through some of our contact, so we have to make sure we're checking better."

To be better at that Sunday, the Blues have to play with more control and composure than they had in Game 5. Hitchcock said the Blues will reduce the number of scoring chances against if they do that. That also might mean they'll have to reduce their number of hits.

St. Louis was credited with 47 hits in Game 5, but they didn't seem to affect Chicago.

"[Chicago] plays a game that makes you run around because they're going. They don't care. They fly," Hitchcock said. "So you're chasing and trying to get it slowed down. We're better just playing our game. That's the composure part. There's a difference between hitting and checking. I want to see us check more rather than chase contact. Sometimes when you're trying to get the game into your grasp, you chase contact a little bit. So for us, it's probably replacing emotion and probably adding the word intensity to it, which is a little bit of focused emotion."

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