When the Blues' charter flight landed in Dallas around 2 a.m. on Friday, cell phones quickly powered on and soon the final score of the Anaheim-Vancouver game was being broadcast throughout the aisles.
Although Anaheim's 6-5 shootout victory over Vancouver wasn't good news for the Blues, the disappointment was short-lived. Several of the players turned their attention back to their handheld video games.
That's because after being "powered on" by David Backes' four-goal game in a 5-4 victory over Detroit Thursday, the Blues feel that they control their own destiny with four games remaining in the regular season.The club hasn't locked itself into a playoff spot officially, but sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference after Chicago defeated Nashville 3-1 on Friday, the Blues are in position to end a three-year postseason drought with a strong finish.
"Now we can't worry about what else happens around the league," Blues center Jay McClement said. "Now it's kind of up to us. As long as we take care of our own job, then things will work out in the end."
The Blues' remaining
schedule appears the most favorable in what's shaping up to be a race among three teams vying for two playoff spots in the West.
After Friday's games, Anaheim was in seventh place in the West with 86 points, one point ahead of the eighth-place Blues and two ahead of ninth-place Nashville.
In its final four games, Anaheim will twice face San Jose, which is in line to win the top seed in the West. The Ducks are 1-3 against the Sharks this season and 7-6-1 against their remaining opponents.
Nashville, after losing to Chicago on Friday, has another game remaining against the Blackhawks and yet another game with Detroit looming. The Predators are 10-6-1 this season against their last four opponents.
In the Blues' final four games, they will face teams that they have a 12-2 record against this season. Three of their opponents ? Dallas, Phoenix and Colorado ? are all out of the playoff picture.
But after sitting in 15th place in the conference as recently as Feb. 18, the Blues are taking nothing for granted, especially with three of their four remaining games on the road.
McClement noted that the Blues were 4-0-1 against Chicago this season but fell 3-1 to the Blackhawks in Chicago Wednesday.
"We had a pretty good record against them going into that game and that was one of our worst efforts we've had in a long time," he said. "That was a lesson that we've got to learn. We've got to get back to the mentality that it doesn't matter if we're in Detroit, in Phoenix, or wherever, we've got to have the same intensity ... those same things that we've had against the top teams in the league."
Blues forward Alex Steen said Thursday night's win over Detroit was "huge" after the defeat in Chicago. That loss now looks like a blip for a club that has won six of its last seven and is 9-3-1 in its last 13 games.
"The way we're playing is great, but with four games remaining, we haven't accomplished what we've wanted to yet," Steen said. "If we're still in the same spot after these four games, then we've accomplished what we wanted to.
"As a team, I think we've learned from our mistakes over the course of the year. We've learned how to play with a lot of confidence, a lot more poise, especially in our own end. We have a lot more trust than we did when I first came in November. We've moved forward, grown together as a team, and I think the obstacles have really helped mold the team."
After the victory in Detroit on Thursday, Blues players said that head coach Andy Murray shook the hand of everyone on the team and said, "Great job!"
"We showed some resiliency there," Murray said. "That's kind of been the mantra with our team. We just continue to battle and play hard. I've been saying it since Day 1 ... if we got some saves and our team continued to maintain the work ethic, we'd find a way to get points, and these guys are doing it."
THE PLAYOFF CHASE
The race for the last two spots in the Western Conference playoffs comes down to three teams. A look at the remaining schedules for those teams:
Anaheim (86 points)
Today at San Jose
Sunday vs. San Jose
Friday vs. Dallas
April 11 at Phoenix
BLUES (85 points)
Today at Dallas
Tuesday at Phoenix
Friday vs. Columbus
April 12 at Colorado
Nashville (84 points)
Today vs. Columbus
Tuesday vs. Chicago
Thursday at Detroit
Friday at Minnesota
Although Anaheim's 6-5 shootout victory over Vancouver wasn't good news for the Blues, the disappointment was short-lived. Several of the players turned their attention back to their handheld video games.
That's because after being "powered on" by David Backes' four-goal game in a 5-4 victory over Detroit Thursday, the Blues feel that they control their own destiny with four games remaining in the regular season.The club hasn't locked itself into a playoff spot officially, but sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference after Chicago defeated Nashville 3-1 on Friday, the Blues are in position to end a three-year postseason drought with a strong finish.
"Now we can't worry about what else happens around the league," Blues center Jay McClement said. "Now it's kind of up to us. As long as we take care of our own job, then things will work out in the end."
The Blues' remaining
schedule appears the most favorable in what's shaping up to be a race among three teams vying for two playoff spots in the West.
After Friday's games, Anaheim was in seventh place in the West with 86 points, one point ahead of the eighth-place Blues and two ahead of ninth-place Nashville.
In its final four games, Anaheim will twice face San Jose, which is in line to win the top seed in the West. The Ducks are 1-3 against the Sharks this season and 7-6-1 against their remaining opponents.
Nashville, after losing to Chicago on Friday, has another game remaining against the Blackhawks and yet another game with Detroit looming. The Predators are 10-6-1 this season against their last four opponents.
In the Blues' final four games, they will face teams that they have a 12-2 record against this season. Three of their opponents ? Dallas, Phoenix and Colorado ? are all out of the playoff picture.
But after sitting in 15th place in the conference as recently as Feb. 18, the Blues are taking nothing for granted, especially with three of their four remaining games on the road.
McClement noted that the Blues were 4-0-1 against Chicago this season but fell 3-1 to the Blackhawks in Chicago Wednesday.
"We had a pretty good record against them going into that game and that was one of our worst efforts we've had in a long time," he said. "That was a lesson that we've got to learn. We've got to get back to the mentality that it doesn't matter if we're in Detroit, in Phoenix, or wherever, we've got to have the same intensity ... those same things that we've had against the top teams in the league."
Blues forward Alex Steen said Thursday night's win over Detroit was "huge" after the defeat in Chicago. That loss now looks like a blip for a club that has won six of its last seven and is 9-3-1 in its last 13 games.
"The way we're playing is great, but with four games remaining, we haven't accomplished what we've wanted to yet," Steen said. "If we're still in the same spot after these four games, then we've accomplished what we wanted to.
"As a team, I think we've learned from our mistakes over the course of the year. We've learned how to play with a lot of confidence, a lot more poise, especially in our own end. We have a lot more trust than we did when I first came in November. We've moved forward, grown together as a team, and I think the obstacles have really helped mold the team."
After the victory in Detroit on Thursday, Blues players said that head coach Andy Murray shook the hand of everyone on the team and said, "Great job!"
"We showed some resiliency there," Murray said. "That's kind of been the mantra with our team. We just continue to battle and play hard. I've been saying it since Day 1 ... if we got some saves and our team continued to maintain the work ethic, we'd find a way to get points, and these guys are doing it."
THE PLAYOFF CHASE
The race for the last two spots in the Western Conference playoffs comes down to three teams. A look at the remaining schedules for those teams:
Anaheim (86 points)
Today at San Jose
Sunday vs. San Jose
Friday vs. Dallas
April 11 at Phoenix
BLUES (85 points)
Today at Dallas
Tuesday at Phoenix
Friday vs. Columbus
April 12 at Colorado
Nashville (84 points)
Today vs. Columbus
Tuesday vs. Chicago
Thursday at Detroit
Friday at Minnesota
