NHL postseason opening round quick hits: Blackhawks vs. Blues

Vitals
Chicago: (47-26-9) 3rd in Central Division
St. Louis: (49-24-9) 2nd in Central Division

Season Series
All three of St. Louis’ wins in the five-game season series came in overtime. Vladimir Tarasenko scored the game-winner in two of those games.

Looking at the Matchup
This is easily one of the most intriguing duels in the first round. The Blues battled a plethora of injuries throughout the season to claw their way to second place in the Central. The team was without David Backes when they practiced on Monday, for instance. And the defending- champion Blackhawks went from being so far ahead of the pack in the standings to falling into third place at the end of regular-season play.

Goaltending will be paramount on both ends of the ice. Even with a scary-good offense, the Blackhawks’ chances of advancing past the first could hinge on how healthy, and locked in, Corey Crawford ends up being. Multiple goals from an O-line consisting of Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane will still need the benefit of the opposition not finding the back of the net. For St. Louis, it will mean Brian Elliott taking the momentum from his league-leading .930 save percentage and keeping Chicago’s offense at bay.

Quotables
"We missed some key guys down the stretch, and hopefully they come back fresher. We're going to need our depth. It can get exposed quickly, and making adjustments on a need basis is something we're ready to do." — Joel Quenneville, head coach Chicago Blackhawks ( via the Chicago Tribune)