{"id":549710,"date":"2026-04-10T18:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T18:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/549710\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T18:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T18:04:09","slug":"blues-gameday-preview-facing-the-blackhawks-with-the-season-on-the-line-the-hockey-writers-st-louis-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/549710\/","title":{"rendered":"Blues’ Gameday Preview: Facing the Blackhawks With the Season on the Line – The Hockey Writers – St Louis Blues"},"content":{"rendered":"

The final weekend of the regular season has arrived, and the pressure is on. The St. Louis Blues are teetering on the brink<\/a> of playoff elimination. They are seven points back of the LA Kings, who are in the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, with four games remaining. <\/p>\n

They must seize a victory against the Chicago Blackhawks<\/a> on Saturday afternoon, or that could be the end of their playoff hopes. <\/p>\n

Blues\u2019 Gameday Preview: Blues vs. Blackhawks<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s matchup marks the fourth and final meeting between the rivals. The Blackhawks have taken two of three games, notching an 8-3 win in St. Louis and a 7-3 win in Chicago.<\/p>\n

\"St.Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Justin Faulk and Jordan Binnington (The Hockey Writers)<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks lead the all-time series 192-166-35-7 and are looking for their first season-series win over the Blues since 2018-19.<\/p>\n

Last Game: Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the Blues fell 3-2 to the Winnipeg Jets. Dylan Holloway provided St. Louis with an early power-play goal, but the team\u2019s power play struggled afterward, finishing 1-5, with only one shot over the final four opportunities. This continues a downward trend<\/a> on special teams. This loss, the team\u2019s second straight, lowered their already slim playoff chances. <\/p>\n

Projected Lineup<\/a> vs. Blackhawks (Subject to Change)<\/p>\n

Dylan Holloway<\/a> \u2013 Robert Thomas<\/a> \u2013 Jimmy Snuggerud<\/p>\n

Jake Neighbours \u2013 Pavel Buchnevich \u2013 Jonatan Berggren<\/p>\n

Otto Stenberg \u2013 Dalibor Dvorsky \u2013 Jordan Kyrou<\/p>\n

Alexey Toropchenko \u2013 Jack Finley \u2013 Nathan Walker<\/p>\n

Philip Broberg \u2013 Logan Mailloux<\/p>\n

Theo Lindstein \u2013 Colton Parayko<\/p>\n

Cam Fowler \u2013 Tyler Tucker<\/p>\n

Joel Hofer<\/a>\/Jordan Binnington<\/p>\n

After Pius Suter was a healthy scratch on Thursday, Stenberg entered the lineup. There\u2019s a chance head coach Jim Montgomery could re-insert Suter for Saturday, but that remains to be seen. For updated lineups, be sure to check the link above periodically.<\/p>\n

Blues Team Leaders<\/p>\n

Thomas leads St. Louis in points (58), goals (22), assists (39), and plus\/minus (plus-19). Tucker leads with 81 penalty minutes. In goal, Hofer continues to lead in the three major categories: 13 wins, a 2.58 goals-against average (GAA), and a .910 save percentage (SV%).<\/p>\n

Storyline #1 \u2013 Do Not Underestimate Chicago<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks\u2019 on-ice product reflects their rebuilding struggles. The team has lost seven of its last eight games and holds the second-best odds of winning the draft lottery.<\/p>\n

Related: 2026 NHL Draft Guide<\/a><\/p>\n

The Blues have no room for mistakes. Chicago, though rebuilding, is dangerous\u2014they want to finish strong<\/a>, while the Blues must win to keep their season alive, and there is nothing riskier than facing a team with nothing to lose.<\/p>\n

All season, the Blackhawks have matched up well against the Blues, blowing them out twice (including once in St. Louis). Even the Blues\u2019 lone win was a narrow 3-2 final. Is this a game the Blues should win? Yes. Is it a trap game? Yes.<\/p>\n

Storyline #2 \u2013 Blues Need Scoring Aside from the \u201cBig Three\u201d<\/p>\n

Since April Fool\u2019s Day, the Blues have scored 13 goals, and the team\u2019s top line of Thomas, Snuggerud, and Holloway accounted for nine of them. While top-line production is important, the team needs more depth scoring. <\/p>\n

When only one line scores, the opposition can focus on shutting that line down, and it\u2019s that much easier when their opponent has the last change at home. Expect the Blackhawks to try to neutralize that group tonight. The Blues need more players to start scoring now. Saturday is the last, crucial chance for that to happen. <\/p>\n

Storyline #3 \u2013 The Tragic Number<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Blues could be eliminated from the postseason by the end of Friday\u2019s contests. Below are the specific scenarios<\/a> that would result in their elimination. <\/p>\n

If the Blues lose to the Blackhawks in regulation, they are eliminated from playoff contention.<\/p>\n

If the Los Angeles Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers, the Blues will be eliminated, regardless of their own result.<\/p>\n

If the Blues lose to the Blackhawks in overtime or a shootout, and the Oilers beat the Kings in overtime or a shootout, the Blues are eliminated.<\/p>\n

If the Blues lose to the Blackhawks in overtime or a shootout, and the Nashville Predators beat the Minnesota Wild, the Blues are eliminated.<\/p>\n

If the Blues lose to the Blackhawks in overtime or a shootout, the San Jose Sharks defeat the Vancouver Canucks, and the Jets defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, the Blues are eliminated.<\/p>\n

If the Blues lose in overtime or a shootout to the Blackhawks, the Canucks beat the Sharks in overtime, or a shootout, and the Jets beat the Flyers, then the Blues are eliminated.<\/p>\n

Confused? So am I.<\/p>\n

The Blues have just a 0.6% of making the postseason. Every shift is do-or-die, but as Lloyd Christmas said, \u201cSo, you\u2019re telling me there\u2019s a chance!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

How to Watch\/Listen<\/p>\n

The game starts at 4:00 P.M. Central. Watch on FanDuel Sports Midwest or listen on 101 ESPN.<\/p>\n

Be sure to check back in with The Hockey Writers for additional Blues coverage and league-wide content.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The final weekend of the regular season has arrived, and the pressure is on. The St. Louis Blues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549711,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5126],"tags":[5,186,1760,240,5303,793,145,5304,5302,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-549710","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-kings","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-kings","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-kings","12":"tag-lakings","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-kings","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangeleskings","17":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116381736588154216","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}