While the Chicago Blackhawks are freshly eliminated from postseason contention, the St. Louis Blues now find themselves in the middle of the Western Conference playoff chase.
The Central Division rivals on contrasting paths will meet Saturday afternoon at St. Louis.
The Blackhawks (20-40-9, 49 points) were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention Thursday during a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at home.
Meanwhile the Blues (35-28-7, 77 points) edged into the Western Conference’s second wild card slot Thursday with their 4-3 overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks at home.
“It’s as tight as it’s ever been and we’ve just got to keep going,” Blues forward Dylan Holloway said.
“There’s still games left,” Blues defenseman Philip Broberg added. “You’ve still got to keep pushing and keep getting better here down the stretch. You’ve got to keep sticking to what’s made us successful here lately. We’ve just got to keep that going here the last games.”
Chicago has gone 0-5-1 in its last six games while St. Louis has a four-game winning streak.
The Blues are 11-2-2 in their last 15 games. That turnaround began against the Blackhawks on Feb. 8 in their last game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
St. Louis earned a 6-5 shootout victory that night at home. The Blues also earned a 6-2 victory in Chicago on Dec. 31 in the Winter Classic game at Wrigley Field.
Blues coach Jim Montgomery has watched young contributors like Jake Neighbours, Zachary Bolduc and Tyler Tucker make strides during the team’s playoff push.
“The experience they’re getting down the stretch run is only going to help us next year and for years to come,” Montgomery said. “That’s why we’re very thankful our team has been able to play so well to get into these types of games like this. This is not only going to help us this year but years to come.”
Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are once again playing out the string. They haven’t been to the postseason since the 2019-20 season and they haven’t won a playoff round since their 2015 Stanley Cup season.
They had a tough start against the Kings on Thursday before playing better hockey in the last two periods. Goaltender Spencer Knight was under siege early.
“Yeah, they took it to us in the first period,” Blackhawks coach Anders Sorensen said. “A lot of traffic, a lot of shots, a lot of extra rebounds and stuff. Spencer did a good job of keeping us in there. The last two periods, I think we had more quality chances but (they) didn’t go our way.”
Blackhawks center Connor Bedard saw positives in how the team finished the game.
“Obviously, after the first period, we got a lot better,” Bedard said. “I think we didn’t create enough 5-on-5 probably, and that’s kind of what the difference was.”
After making the visit to St. Louis, the Blackhawks will return home for their next five games.
Blackhawks forward Colton Dach is questionable after exiting Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury.
