The defending Stanley Cup Champions will open the season at home against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.
This matchup pits the 2017-18 winners contrary to the most recent champs. It was an unlikely run to the very best to the Blues. They moved from dead last in the league using all the Stanley Cup hoisted above their heads.
On January 3rd, the anglers had been sitting last in the league before going to a run for the ages. The Blues would win 11 straight matches from January 23rd to February 19th, providing some hope in St. Louis that they can attain the playoffs. The win streak has been a franchise record. They compiled a record of 12-1-1, which had been a franchise record to the Blues.
By the conclusion of the regular season, the Blues had accumulated a record of 30-10-5 using 65 points as January 3rd. St. Louis has been the first group since the 1996-97 appeared to hit the playoffs following sitting last after New Years Day. As the Blues won the Stanley Cup over the Boston Bruins in Game 7, the best was yet to come. How did this happen for the Blues?
The beginning of their monster conduct can be licensed to a change of goaltenders. A guy the Blues felt comfortable with enough to let Brian Elliott walk, jake Allen , was benched for newcomer Jordan Binnington. This was the movement of the entire year, since Binnington had been the first rookie goaltender because Al Rollins with the Maple Leafs from 1950-51 to finish with a GAA of 1.89 or even less. We must give credit to the team however, Binnington actually nearing the jog.
Meanwhile, the Capitals flamed out from the playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were still brewing a historical run also, but could not reach what the Blues did. Though it would be foolish to discard them washingtons heart is not getting any younger. The team that won the Cup remains intact for the most part. With Alexander Ovechkin, the Caps are going to be a hazard that is hazardous. Head below to our free Capitals vs. Blues pick to open the season on Wednesday.
The Capitals will go into their first three matches of the regular season. Evgeny Kuznetsov is going to serving a three-game suspension as a consequence of failing a drug test in 2018. Luckily for the Capitals, its just a three-game ban and it wont have consequences. The NHL was in a spot where they needed to do something. There was even also video of him with a rolled up charge near cocaine on a table, so there wasnt anything he could do to escape it.
Having said this, the Capitals are still packed with gift offensively. Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Wilson give the Capitals a powerful punch on the line. Chandler Stephenson likely benefits the most from this Kuznetsov suspension. Hes had a camp and is being rewarded for it having a spot on the line. Stephenson is a speedster and he is placed on a line with a lot of speed. This line needs to be a sleeper for the Caps tonight.
Ovechkin, Oshie, Ellers, and Backstrom are all suiting up on Wednesday night, despite no Kuznetsov, the Capitals should be fine. Ovechkin won his eighth Rocket Richard Trophy as the target getter season. Hes getting older, but still notched 51 goals. Binnington will likely be in net for the Blues so the Caps confront a tall arrangement between the pipes. Having said that, this is his first full season as a starting goaltender in the NHL. Can we see a slump of sorts after that which he did a year ago?
Binnington finally finished the year with a 1.89 GAA and .927 save percentage in the regular time. That number jumped a bit into a 2.46 GAA and 0.914 save percentage at the playoffs. Binnington was phenomenal, but with a tiny sample size into his profession, I believe we are still at a stage where he has not found his equilibrium yet. The way I view it, it is higher than a 2.00 GAA, and thus dont hesitate to watch Binnington flirting with some thing about a 2.40 GAA at the conclusion of the season. That might still be a good season for him, though.
Holtby goes into 2019-2020 at a contract period. He will be searching for one last payday following this season. His numbers a season ago dont indicate a group will be ready to pay him big money. Holtby completed with a 2.82 GAA and also 0.911 save percent. He had been cold and hot during the season. It had been above his career averages of 2.47 and also 0.918.
Along with Holtby, Backstrom is currently seeking a new contract following offseason. Expect both of them appearing to prove something straight from the gates Wednesday night. The home opener is intended to get a night to celebrate for the Blues. But they have an opponent coming into St. Louis trying to demonstrate that their time as an elite team isnt done. The oddsmakers arent giving the traffic respect, though.
This should be a great matchup and it turned out to be a smart move from the NHL to place them on the coming night. Expect the Blues to become just a bit too excited. Call it a hangover or whatever you want, but I guess Ovechkin and business are going to put a damper on the party Wednesday night. In what needs to be a closer match than the odds indicate, the Caps would be the greater value .
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