ST. LOUIS – It all comes down to the final game of the season for the Blues – on home ice, no less.
“[The fans] deserve it,” Blues goalie Jordan Binnington said. “They deserve this moment. They’ve been great for us down this stretch especially and it’s definitely exciting to have it on home ice.”
The Blues host the Utah Hockey Club Tuesday night at Enterprise Center for a chance to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
“To have this one in front of our fans, it’s going to be a fun night,” Blues center Robert Thomas said Monday.
It seems unfair that after a franchise setting 12-game winning streak the Blues playoff hopes rest in the balance of the final game of the season. During that stretch, the Calgary Flames won enough to keep playoff pace with the Blues. Add on the last two games where the Blues have lost and the Flames have lost, it leaves Calgary just two points behind the Blues with two games in hand.
“This is what we play for,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “Chances like this and opportunities like this are what make the game exciting.”
It seems like head coach Jim Montgomery will shuffle up his lineup and have Binnington start Tuesday. Montgomery likes to rotate his goalies often typically giving Binnington every third game off, but it looks like Binnington will get the nod.
“This is a big moment,” Binnington said. “We have to go out there and do our job.”
Binnington’s already performed well under stressful conditions this season. At the Four Nations, Binnington helped lead Canada to a championship win over Team USA with 31 saves.
If you look at the rocky season with a coaching change and introducing new players as well as injuries, the Blues are just happy to have a chance to make the playoffs.
“I think you just embrace it,” Thomas said. “The last couple of years we haven’t been in this spot. It’s fun playing these kinds of games and the excitement and energy that’s going to be in the building and throughout our locker room we are not scared of it.”
It’s as simple as win and you’re in tomorrow night for the Blues. There is a chance they could snag the first wild card spot as well if the Wild lose their final game of the season.