Preview: Game 2 at Minnesota

GAME 2 AT MINNESOTA

Ville Husso made his Stanley Cup Playoffs entrance as noteworthy as he possibly could have. By becoming the first goaltender in franchise history to record a shutout in his postseason debut, Husso made 37 saves in an electric outing as the Blues defeated the Wild to open the first-round series.
"I saw how hard (Husso) worked, how passionate he is for the game - you're happy for guys that earn everything they have, and he's certainly done that," David Perron said of his goaltender's preparation for this moment. "We're extremely proud of him, we want him to keep going it's good to get that first win out of the way for him."
In addition to Husso's sensational performance, Perron put on a display of his own. After missing the 2021 Playoffs due to COVID-19, Perron was eager to lace up for his team this year, scoring his first career postseason hat trick to steamroll over the Wild on the road.
The Blues dominated the special teams battle, converting on two power plays while also holding Minnesota scoreless on all six of their power-play opportunities. If whistles begin to lessen, the Blues will need to make sure their even-strength attack is focused and aggressive as the series continues.
Game 2 is Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. CT.

NOTEWORTHY STATS

-Including Game 1, the Blues have won six straight games against Minnesota, going 10-0-1 in their last 11 matchups.
-In a best-of-7 series all-time, the Blues are 20-12 (.625) when leading 1-0 and 7-5 (.583) when leading 1-0 starting on the road. In League history, the team that grabs Game 1 wins the first round 68.6 percent of the time (499-228).
-Since the NHL Trade Deadline (March 21), the Blues are a League-best 10-1-1 on the road (including the Game 1 win).

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THEY SAID IT

"Guys make it pretty easy for me. Shots coming from outside, blocking shots - I think the penalty kill was at its best of the season. It's really nice for my first playoff game that we were ready right away." - Blues goaltender Ville Husso after winning Game 1
"(The Blues) are not a team that shoots a lot of pucks. Sometimes they have a clear lane and they're still waiting to make the extra pass across the crease. I think that's what makes them good, especially on the power play." -Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury after Game 1

BLUE NOTES

Ivan Barbashev attempted the third penalty shot in postseason franchise history, but was unsuccessful. Vladimir Tarasenko owns the only successful postseason penalty shot attempt in franchise history against San Jose in the 2019 Western Conference Final... Perron became the 14th player in franchise history to record a postseason hat trick and the first to do so in the opening game of the playoffs... Tarasenko leads the Blues with 35 career postseason goals, sharing second on the all-time franchise list with Bernie Federko (1. Brett Hull, 67)... Nick Leddy has appeared in 122 career playoff games, the most of any Blue.