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Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

Five reasons Blues were eliminated from playoffs

Monday, 04.27.2015 / 10:46 AM / Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

Louie Korac - NHL.com Correspondent

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues are the epitome of what a regular-season team should be.

They've surpassed 100 points three of the past four seasons (they didn't get there in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season), and have finished first or second in their division four straight seasons.

But another disappointment in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, this time a six-game loss to the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference First Round, could make for an interesting offseason.

Here are five reasons the Blues were eliminated:

Five reasons Wild advanced to second round

Monday, 04.27.2015 / 9:09 AM / Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

Dan Myers - NHL.com Correspondent

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- For the second consecutive season the Minnesota Wild eliminated the Central Division champion in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This time it was the St. Louis Blues, beating them in six games in the Western Conference First Round.

All six games were decided by two goals or more and Minnesota closed the series by winning the final two games.

Here are five reasons the Wild advanced to the second round:

Hitchcock, Blues exit playoffs early again

Sunday, 04.26.2015 / 8:23 PM / Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

Louie Korac - NHL.com Correspondent

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Louis Blues have been at the top of the League standings in the regular season for each of the past four seasons, but exited the Stanley Cup Playoffs prematurely again.

The Blues were defeated by the Minnesota Wild 4-1 at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday, to lose the best-of-7 series 4-2, the third straight season they've been eliminated in the first round.

St. Louis finished with 14 goals in the series and four of them came in their four losses.

Sunday, Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves, allowing a T.J. Oshie goal.

Blues goalie Jake Allen, who had been strong through the first four games of the series, allowed two goals before being pulled from the game in favor of Brian Elliott.

The past four seasons in coach Ken Hitchcock's tenure, the Blues are 10-17 in the playoffs with one series victory.

Blues' Allen pulled from game in second period

Sunday, 04.26.2015 / 4:53 PM / Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

NHL.com

St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen was pulled from Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round series at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday after the Minnesota Wild took a 2-0 lead with 8:41 left in the second period.

Brian Elliott replaced Allen after Wild forward Justin Fontaine scored on a wrist shot through Allen's five-hole from the right hash marks.

Starting time set for Blues-Wild Game 6

Friday, 04.24.2015 / 10:26 PM / Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

NEW YORK – The National Hockey League today announced that the starting time of Game 6 of the series between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild has been set for 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT in Minnesota on Sunday, April 26.

Blues scratch forward Lehtera for Game 5 vs. Wild

Friday, 04.24.2015 / 9:31 PM / Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

Louie Korac - NHL.com Correspondent

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Blues center Jori Lehtera was scratched for Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round against the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

Lehtera did not participate in the morning skate because of a lower-body injury that he sustained midway through the third period of Game 4 on Wednesday. He was hit on the right leg with a power-play shot by teammate Jay Bouwmeester and didn't return.

Marcel Goc took Lehtera's spot in the lineup after being a healthy scratch Wednesday. Paul Stastny moved up and centered a line with Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko, and Goc played between Dmitrij Jaskin and Patrik Berglund.

Blues' Tarasenko not fazed by individual success

Thursday, 04.23.2015 / 4:18 PM / Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

Louie Korac - NHL.com Correspondent

ST. LOUIS -- When St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko speaks with the media, nothing but a sincere attitude emerges.

Tarasenko isn't interested in basking in the fantastic, take-your-breath-away goals he scores, like the one Wednesday in the Blues' 6-1 win against the Minnesota Wild in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round that tied the best-of-7 series at 2-2.

Instead Tarasenko chooses his words carefully. They come from his mind and heart, and normally involve talking about his teammates and the Blues' attitude and goals.

With Tarasenko, it's all about winning games.

Blues have offensive outburst in win vs. Wild

Thursday, 04.23.2015 / 1:36 AM / Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

Louie Korac - NHL.com Correspondent

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Louis Blues talked at the morning skate Wednesday about initiating the play and dictating to their pace against the Minnesota Wild.

Scoring three times in the first period enabled them to do that with shots from all angles, getting bodies in front of Devan Dubnyk in a 6-1 victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round series at Xcel Energy Center.

The victory ended a nine-game road Stanley Cup Playoff losing streak in which the Blues were outscored 28-11.

The best-of-7 series tied 2-2 shifts to St. Louis for Game 5 on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, FS-N, FS-MW).

"Our scoring is a direct reflection of our checking," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "When we check, we score. It looks like we've joined the tournament now and we're dialed in."

Wild pull Dubnyk after allowing six goals to Blues

Thursday, 04.23.2015 / 12:43 AM / Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

NHL.com

Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk was pulled from Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round with 3:10 remaining in the second period after allowing six goals to the St. Louis Blues.

Dubnyk, who was coming off a 3-0 shutout in Game 3, was replaced by Darcy Kuemper, who stopped all nine shots he faced the rest of the way in the Blues 6-1 victory.

The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 in St. Louis on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, TVA Sports, FS-N).

Dubnyk seemed to be injured midway through the period when he fell and was hit in the leg with a shot while on the ice. A trainer attended to him and Dubnyk stayed in the game, before allowing two goals in 63 seconds at 15:47 and 16:50.

Pominville, Wild top line asserts itself in Game 3

Tuesday, 04.21.2015 / 2:01 PM / Blues vs Wild - 2015 SCP First Round

Dan Myers - NHL.com Correspondent

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- When judging the season of Minnesota Wild forward Jason Pominville, be sure to look further than his statistics.

Despite a 12-goal decline from last season, Pominville has been an important piece all season for the Wild, who are leading a Stanley Cup Playoff series for the first time in their history.

Pominville scored the game-winning goal in Game 3 of Minnesota's Western Conference First Round series against the St. Louis Blues on Monday, giving the Wild a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series with Game 4 on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; NCBSN, SN360, TVA3, FW-MW, FS-N).

"From a goal-scoring standpoint, you always want more," Pominville said. "From a point-production, I'm pretty much where I was last year (60-54). I went through a stretch [this season] where maybe I was making more plays and not shooting as much, but when you look at my total shots, I had more this year."

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