In their home away from home at Xcel Energy Center, the Blues have hung a banner bearing the slogan, "Pressure is a privilege." Tuesday, they insisted they were not feeling any heat they couldn't handle, despite a feeble performance in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Wild.
Only a handful of players showed up at the rink the day after Monday's 3-0 loss, with most choosing to stay at their hotel in downtown Minneapolis to rest for Wednesday's Game 4. While several expressed their unhappiness with the team's subpar play, coach Ken Hitchcock put a positive spin on things, even as he acknowledged several flaws that must be quickly addressed.
Just as Wild coach Mike Yeo rejected the idea that the Wild dominated Game 3, Hitchcock refused to call it a clunker for his team. The Blues surrendered only two goals — not counting Nino Niederreiter's late empty-netter — and young goaltender Jake Allen has allowed only five shots to get past him in three games. On the flip side, the Blues managed only 17 shots on goal Monday and have shown little offensive punch, particularly at even strength.
It's been speculated that Hitchcock could make some lineup changes for Game 4, but he would not answer any personnel questions Tuesday. He did say that no matter who is on the ice, the Blues must stick to their signature strategy of countering the Wild's speed with grit and muscle, giving them the chance to control the puck and create more scoring opportunities.
"It's all doom and gloom, but it was a 2-0 hockey game," Hitchcock said of Game 3. "[The Wild] played very, very well. We can play better, and we'll play better.
"If we win [Wednesday], then it's advantage us. It's a big game for both teams, but I like our ability to rebound and play a better hockey game. But we're going to have to do some things that are really relevant in our game at a much higher level."
Hitchcock emphasized the Blues' problems are not a matter of effort, but of patience. Much like they did in a 4-2 loss in Game 1, they surrendered the puck too easily in Game 3, which allowed the Wild to use its speed. The coach added that the Wild won "the swarm game," prevailing in most of the puck scrums along the boards against a team considered its physical superior.
Allen is ranked fourth in goals-against average (1.68) and fifth in save percentage (.933) in the playoffs, and Hitchcock said "any coach in the world" would be thrilled with a goalie who had given up five goals in three games. But the Blues have spent too much time chasing the Wild up and down the ice, and too little time controlling the puck and generating quality shots. Captain David Backes said his team must get back to its physical style in all three zones, while penetrating the Wild's defense to get bodies and pucks to the net.
"It's about bringing everything we've got to a physical, hard-nosed, Blues hockey-type of game," Backes said. "If we do that, we'll like the result. If we play passive, play on our heels, the result is probably going to be similar to Game 3. But lesson hopefully learned that we're going to come out and try to assert ourselves right off the bat."
While his players rested, Hitchcock spent Tuesday going over video of Game 3. He anticipates his team will make good adjustments in Game 4, weathering the pressure that comes with the privilege of another day of playoff hockey.
"There's so much at stake in the playoffs," Hitchcock said. "That's what makes it so much fun. But it's a pretty resilient group we've got here. We have to recognize not so much what [the Wild] is doing to us, but what we're doing to ourselves."
