Special Teams Not Special for Blues

Game Three is often a pivotal moment in a best-of-seven series. Of course, in the case of the St. Louis Blues, it's more about keeping hope alive at this point.

Yes, teams have come back after losing the first three games of a series. However, there's a reason why it hasn't happened in the NHL in over 30 years. Betting on it as the likely outcome of your team's series is just not a smart way to go about things. The Blues and their fans are about to find out why.

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Discipline was the big key to Vancouver's 3-2 win in front of a frenzied crowd in St. Louis Sunday evening. The Canucks' own lack of discipline was evident throughout the game, as they took a number of dumb penalties. However, the Blues were unable to take advantage, going scoreless in six power play chances. That included two long five-on-threes, one of which saw the Blues unable to establish any serious puck possession in the Vancouver zone.

While Vancouver deserves much credit for their wonderful penalty kill in this series, something needs to be said about the Blues' miserable failures in five-on-three opportunities. There is simply no excuse for not being able to at least set up the power play in the offensive zone when you have two extra players on the ice. It's one thing to get a large number of shots but come up empty. It's another to miss the net on your shot attempts and not have the gusto to out-battle the team that is missing two players.

Meanwhile, St. Louis' stirring lack of discipline and penchant for selfish penalties bit them square in the rear. Vancouver scored all three of their goals on power plays, with the Blues playing poorly in front of their own net. Vancouver continued a trend of outworking the Blues in front of goalie Roberto Luongo, and hard work in front of Chris Mason really spurred them on to this victory.

It's a hard way for a young team to learn the lessons of playoff hockey. You can't put yourself in the penalty box to show you're a macho man, as 30-goal scorer David Backes did twice. It just doesn't work that way. The teams that win in the playoffs are the ones that don't take those types of penalties, especially Backes' horribly selfish and probably suspension-worthy attack on Henrik Sedin in the final seconds. No, St. Louis probably wouldn't have tied it up, considering the trouble they had getting possession of the puck away from the boards, but Backes betrayed his team to prove a point at the worst possible time.

Assuming the Canucks don't become just the third team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 lead and lose a best-of-seven series, they'll have earned this victory. They've been easily the better team in the first three games, outworking and outhustling the Blues at every turn.

Game Four will be played Tuesday night in St. Louis, as the Blues try to avoid being the first team eliminated from the playoffs.