Once again, St. Louis opened the scoring and trailed Colorado from there.
Once again, the St. Louis Blues jumped out to an early start and trailed the Colorado Avalanche for the remainder of the game. The Blues dropped a 6-3 decision to the Avalanche in what might’ve been a must-win Game 4 at home Monday night. Colorado now leads the second-round series 3-1.
So, what’s next for the Blues? The Blues will travel to Denver to take on the Avalanche for Game 5 on Wednesday at 7:00 pm Central. The Blues’ season comes down to a do-or-die situation, while the Avalanche is only one win away from their first Western Conference Final since 2000-01. The Avalanche won their second Stanley Cup in 2001.
After David Perron’s first-period goal, Colorado scored four second-period goals — two from Nazem Kadri, one from Erik Johnson, and one from Devon Toews. Perron and Pavel Buchnevich netted two back-to-back power-play goals to end the second. However, St. Louis’ defense remained inconsistent. Kadri completed his hat trick, and Mikko Rantanen scored his first goal of the playoffs in the third period.
Whether or not you believe Kadri’s collision with Jordan Binnington was intentional, you have to respect his stats, including his hat trick on Monday. Kadri has a history of suspensions, and you can feel anger or sadness, but please, keep your feelings to his on-ice antics. There’s no need for anyone to attack him and his family and friends with personal attacks.
Blues goaltender Ville Husso made 31 saves on 36 shots in 56:32. I don’t think Husso’s the future goaltender in St. Louis if he’s even going to stay with the Blues next season.
Like other NHL teams in the loss column, St. Louis will regroup, watch the tape, and practice to prepare for Game 5. But, if the Blues want to force a Game 6, they must play consistently for a full 60 minutes on the road. We’ll see if the winning or losing Blues come out to play at Ball Arena on Wednesday.