3 Keys: Canucks vs. Blues, Game 1 of Western First Round

No. 5 Canucks vs. No. 4 Blues

10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, FS-MW

The St. Louis Blues' quest to repeat as Stanley Cup champions begins Wednesday, when they play the Vancouver Canucks in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

St. Louis was 0-2-1 in the round-robin portion of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

"We've had a lot of downtime," Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo said. "We're excited to finally get this going and get on schedule."

The Canucks are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015, earning their way in by defeating the Minnesota Wild in four games in their best-of-5 qualifier series in Edmonton, the West hub city.

Vancouver won the last three games of the series and used 10 players who previously had never played in the NHL postseason.

"I thought the previous series was a good warmup for us, for sure," Canucks coach Travis Green said.

Teams that win Game 1 are 478-219 (68.6 percent) winning a best-of-7 NHL playoff series.

Here are 3 keys to Game 1:

1. Vancouver's discipline

The Canucks led the League with 28 minor penalties and 78 penalty minutes in the Qualifiers. They were 19-for-22 on the penalty kill (86.4 percent).

Staying out of the penalty box while maintaining their physicality will be a focal point and a tightrope they're going to have to walk, especially defenseman Tyler Myers, who leads the NHL in the postseason with nine penalties and 18 penalty minutes.

"He can't continue to take that many, but I don't want him not playing physical," Green said. "He's got to be physical. He's got to be big in front of our net. I think he's been unlucky with a couple calls."

2. Finding the next level

The Blues played three round-robin games, all with the knowledge that they would be in the playoffs regardless of their record in those games. The Canucks enter this series having already been in a playoff scenario in the Qualifiers.

Blues coach Craig Berube said he saw some things in their game in the round-robin that are cause for alarm, but part of that might have to do with what was at stake, which wasn't close to what the Canucks were playing for against the Wild.

The Blues know as well, if not better, than any team in the NHL the level it takes to win in the playoffs. Their ability to flip the switch to get there could determine how Game 1 goes for them.

3. Face-offs

The Blues and Canucks are two of the best face-off teams in the NHL. St. Louis won a League-high 59.6 percent of its face-offs in the round-robin; Vancouver won 55.0 percent against Minnesota.

Each has one of the best centers at the dot, Ryan O'Reilly (St. Louis) and Bo Horvat (Vancouver). O'Reilly won 72.9 percent of his face-offs in the round-robin (43 of 59); Horvat won 58.3 percent (49 of 84) in the qualifier series.

Possession could dictate how this series is played, whether the Canucks will be able to utilize their speed and skill with the puck, or if St. Louis will be able to force Vancouver into playing in its own end.

Canucks projected lineup

J.T. Miller -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser

Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Loui Eriksson

Antoine Roussel -- Brandon Sutter -- Jake Virtanen

Tyler Motte -- Jay Beagle -- Zack MacEwen

Alexander Edler -- Troy Stecher

Quinn Hughes -- Chris Tanev

Olli Juolevi -- Tyler Myers

Jacob Markstrom

Thatcher Demko

Scratched: Justin Bailey, Jordie Benn, Jalen Chatfield, Louis Domingue, Adam Gaudette, Tyler Graovac, Brogan Rafferty

Unfit to play: Oscar Fantenberg, Micheal Ferland, Josh Leivo, Tyler Toffoli

Blues projected lineup

Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Vladimir Tarasenko

Zach Sanford -- Ryan O'Reilly -- David Perron

Jordan Kyrou -- Robert Thomas -- Tyler Bozak

Alexander Steen -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Troy Brouwer

Carl Gunnarsson -- Alex Pietrangelo

Marco Scandella -- Colton Parayko

Vince Dunn -- Justin Faulk

Jordan Binnington

Jake Allen

Scratched: Ivan Barbashev, Ville Husso, Jacob de la Rose, Robert Bortuzzo, Klim Kostin, Mackenzie MacEachern , Austin Poganski, Niko Mikkola, Derrick Pouliot, Jake Walman, Ville Husso

Unfit to play: Sammy Blais

Status report

Toffoli has not resumed skating with the team. The forward will miss his fourth straight game. … Blais is day to day. The forward sustained an injury in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday. … Fantenberg, a defenseman, was expected to skate Wednesday morning, after which a determination would be made about his availability. He'd likely replace Juolevi if he can play. … Barbashev could return to Edmonton on Friday, Berube said. The forward is in St. Louis with his wife after the birth of their first child Monday.