Upcoming Must Win Games to make the playoffs

[JoshInFenton]

3/16

Anaheim @ STL - Blues dominate physically and on the scoreboard in this one.
Utah @ Vancouver - No 3 point game, so we are happy with the outcome. Utah was the slightly better team to have get the win as well.

3/17

Calgary @ Toronto - Hoping Toronto wins, would begin to push Calgary off the pace.
LA @ Minnesota - Hoping LA wins, they are long gone and not a team we can catch whereas Minnesota is still struggling to keep pace without their star forward and 2 other key pieces.

3/18

Calgary @ New York - 2nd game of a back to back, hoping that the New york wins. If Calgary gets only 1 point out of a possible 4 in these two games, or even 2 out of 4 at this point, the Blues make up ground.
Blues @ Nashville - A day off and a short trip to nashville, Blues just need to show up with the intensity early like they've done lately.
Utah @ Edmonton - Utah is basically right here with us, we could use some help getting them off our back from Edmonton.

[hockey jedi]

Man, I wish Irish Blue still posted here. He always did a nice chart down the stretch, but we ran him off. After tonight, the wildcard standings will probably look like this:

Vancouver 73 points
Calgary 71 points
St. Louis 71 points
Utah 69 points

Projecting the games through March 31st assigning losses against teams with better records and wins against teams with worse records.

Vancouver: Utah-W (L), Winnipeg-L, St. Louis-W, NYR-W, New Jersey-L, NYI-W, Columbus-W, Winnipeg-L 5W 3L 10 points 81 total
Calgary: Toronto-L, NYR-L, New Jersey-L, NYI-W, Seattle-W, Dallas-L, Edmonton-L, Colorado-L 2W 6L 4 points 75 total
St. Louis: Anaheim-W, Nashville-W, Vancouver-L, Chicago-W, Nashville-W, Montreal-OTL, Nashville-W, Colorado-L 5W 2L 1OTL 11 points 82 total
Utah: Vancouver-L (W), Edmonton-L, Buffalo-W, Tampa Bay-L, Detroit-W, Tampa Bay-L, Florida-L, Chicago-W 3W 5L 6 points 77 points

I know sports don't work like this. However, if this did go true to course, Utah and Calgary would have a difficult climb with Vancouver and the Blues competing for the second wildcard by month end.

[hockey jedi]

We have one game left against Vancouver and Utah, who are in the second wildcard hunt. Absolutely no three point games. Obviously those are must win four-point games, meaning you gain two points on each team and eliminate one game for them to get points. = 4 points

You have to win your games against lesser opponents. Three point games against these teams are okay. We have three games against Nashville and single games against Pittsburgh, Seattle, Chicago and Montreal. = 16 points out of 16 possible We have 2 of 16 after tonight

Then we need to go 3-0-1 (and three point games are okay against these teams) in the two games against Colorado, and single games against Detroit, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. = 7 points out of 10 possible

Revised 03/15/2025: That gives us 98 points and puts us knocking at the door. That's a 13-1-1 clip, Unlikely, but this might have a fault tolerance for one extra loss and ending up with 96 points.

[hockey jedi]

3/17

Calgary @ Toronto - Hoping Toronto wins, would begin to push Calgary off the pace.
LA @ Minnesota - Hoping LA wins, they are long gone and not a team we can catch whereas Minnesota is still struggling to keep pace without their star forward and 2 other key pieces.

Come on Toronto!!!

I want LA to win also. Minnesota is slipping and within reach of the Blues.

[JoshInFenton]

3/17

Calgary @ Toronto - Toronto wins, Given the schedules ahead i now consider Calgary off the pace (though they are technically well within range).
LA @ Minnesota - Minnesota won this. Not the best result, but they still have a lot of tough games ahead and i'm not convinced they can win more than 6-7 of them, giving us an outside chance still.

3/18

Calgary @ New York - 2nd game of a back to back, hoping that the New york wins. If Calgary gets only 1 point out of a possible 4 in these two games, or even 2 out of 4 at this point, the Blues make up ground.
Blues @ Nashville - A day off and a short trip to nashville, Blues just need to show up with the intensity early like they've done lately.
Utah @ Edmonton - Utah is basically right here with us, we could use some help getting them off our back from Edmonton.

3/19

Seattle @ Minnesota - Would be nice if seattle surprised them, many consider Seattle a free win for Minnesota, but i'm not convinced it is.

[TAFKAP]

Man would I love to see us catch Minny. First round against Vegas is very different than First round against Winnipeg. Second round in the Pacific would be a lot more fun than the Central.

[LuvthaBlues]

The next six games are very winnable:

Nashville, Vancouver, Chicago, Nashville, Montreal, Nashville

If we could keep up this heater we're on, that'll put a ton of pressure on the other teams. After those six, we've got some tougher opponents in the Avs, Edmonton and Winnipeg. We've played all three of those Teams pretty tough lately, sending the Oil and Wpg to OT/SO and beating the Avs on 2/23.

Since then, the Jets and the Avs have out together some pretty nice runs on their own, but Edmonton has been playing .500 hockey.

I just don't see Vancouver or Calgary playing as well as we have recently, and they both have tougher schedules. We could conceivably get 20 more points out of the remainder of the schedule, I really don't think either of those two teams will come close to that much.

Utah is the one that is hard to predict. That season finale may just turn into a pretty pivotal game.

[JoshInFenton]

3/18

Calgary @ New York - Calgary won, which is not the most unexpected imo, but man the rangers didn't even show up.
Blues @ Nashville - Wasn't as much energy as there has been lately, but more than enough to win still.
Utah @ Edmonton - Utah
Winnipeg @ Vancouver - missed one randomly, but perhaps it was best left missing, Vancouver looks way better all around in this one and likely take the 2 points.

3/19

Seattle @ Minnesota - Would be nice if seattle surprised them, many consider Seattle a free win for Minnesota, but i'm not convinced it is.

3/20

Calgary @ New Jersey - Obviously we root for New Jersey. A good team, so gonna be a difficult opponent for Calgary
Vancouver @ Blues - A big opportunity here to really cement our spot as the WC2 team to chase. a regulation win would be ideal, a win in OT/SO would still do a lot for us, so whatever we need to get the W get it.
Buffalo @ Utah - Well, would be nice, but i'm not gonna expect much

[hockey jedi]

We have one game left against Vancouver and Utah, who are in the second wildcard hunt. Absolutely no three point games. Obviously those are must win four-point games, meaning you gain two points on each team and eliminate one game for them to get points. = 4 points

You have to win your games against lesser opponents. Three point games against these teams are okay. We have two games against Nashville and single games against Pittsburgh, Seattle, Chicago and Montreal. = 12 points out of 12 possible

Then we need to go 3-0-1 (and three point games are okay against these teams) in the two games against Colorado, and single games against Detroit, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. = 7 points out of 10 possible

Revised 03/15/2025: That gives us 98 points and puts us knocking at the door. That's a 13-1-1 clip, Unlikely, but this might have a fault tolerance for one extra loss and ending up with 96 points.

[hockey jedi]

After tonight, the wildcard standings look like this:

Vancouver 75 points
Calgary 73 points
St. Louis 75 points
Utah 71 points

Projecting the games through March 31st assigning losses against teams with better records and wins against teams with worse records.

Vancouver: St. Louis-W, NYR-W, New Jersey-L, NYI-W, Columbus-W, Winnipeg-L 4W 2L 10 points 83 total
Calgary: New Jersey-L, NYI-W, Seattle-W, Dallas-L, Edmonton-L, Colorado-L 2W 4L 4 points 77 total
St. Louis: Vancouver-L, Chicago-W, Nashville-W, Montreal-W, Nashville-W, Colorado-L 4W 2L 8 points 83 total
Utah: Buffalo-W, Tampa Bay-L, Detroit-W, Tampa Bay-L, Florida-L, Chicago-W 3W 3L 6 points 77 points

I picked Vancouver over the Blues because they are slightly higher in the standings by percentage points. I believe the Blues will beat the Canucks because we are playing at home and dominating games.

[JoshInFenton]

3/19

Seattle @ Minnesota - No Help From Seattle. No Showed that game.

3/20

Calgary @ New Jersey - New Jersey flopped in the 3rd, Calgary wins.
Vancouver @ Blues - Unfortunate we let it slip away in the 3rd, but critical 2 points, we'll be fine.
Buffalo @ Utah - in progress, i have an early start tomorrow though so will down the road.

3/21

Vacation day, the only game on has no real influence.

3/22

Vancouver @ New York - This is where we start to hope that teams slip up while we have the easier schedule. The Rangers have been really mediocre, but you never know. Noon start.
Buffalo @ Minnesota - Minnesota likely wins here, and would be about 10 points from safety. Starting to look unlikely they'll continue to slide, but you never know. 1pm
Blackhawks @ Blues - Kinda the theme of the morning games, a wild card team competing against a team either in a rough patch or out of it. Just keep winning the games you need to win. 2pm
Calgary @ NYI - Think the Islanders are slight favorites, but Calgary has entered that mode where they are scratching and crawling, so think it'll be interesting. 3pm
Tampa Bay @ Utah - Probably the most likely of the games of the day where we can get some help from a team. I think Tampa is probably gonna be a bit too much for Utah to handle most of the time. Not a guarantee obviously, but i am most hopeful that Utah gets pushed further back.

[hockey jedi]

After tonight, the wildcard standings look like this:

Minnesota 83 points
St. Louis 77 points
Vancouver 76 points
Calgary 75 points
Utah 73 points

Projecting the games through March 31st assigning losses against teams with better records and wins against teams with worse records.

Minnesota: Buffalo-W, Dallas-L, Vegas-L, Washington-L, New Jersey-W, New Jersey-W 3W 3L 6 points 89 points
St. Louis: Chicago-W, Nashville-W, Montreal-W, Nashville-W, Colorado-L 4W 1L 8 points 85 total
Vancouver: NYR-W, New Jersey-L, NYI-W, Columbus-W, Winnipeg-L 3W 2L 6 points 82 total
Calgary: NYI-W, Seattle-W, Dallas-L, Edmonton-L, Colorado-L 2W 3L 4 points 79 total
Utah: Tampa Bay-L, Detroit-W, Tampa Bay-L, Florida-L, Chicago-W 2W 3L 4 points 77 points

Hoping New Jersey beats Minnesota twice to close out March. Then we are tied for the first wildcard.

[hockey jedi]

You have to win your games against lesser opponents. Three point games against these teams are okay. We have two games against Nashville and single games against Pittsburgh, Seattle, Chicago and Montreal, Detroit and Utah. = 14 points out of 16 possible

Then we need to go 2-1-1 (and three point games are okay against these teams) in the two games against Colorado, and single games against Edmonton and Winnipeg. = 5 points out of 8 possible

That gives us 96 points.

[hockey jedi]

You have to win your games against lesser opponents. Three point games against these teams are okay. We have two games against Nashville and single games against Pittsburgh, Seattle and Montreal, Detroit and Utah. = 12 points out of 14 needed

Then we need to go 2-1-1 (and three point games are okay against these teams) in the two games against Colorado, and single games against Edmonton and Winnipeg. = 5 points out of 8 needed

That gives us 96 points.

[hockey jedi]

After tonight, the wildcard standings look like this:

Minnesota 85 points
St. Louis 79 points
Vancouver 76 points
Calgary 77 points
Utah 75 points

Projecting the games through March 31st assigning losses against teams with better records and wins against teams with worse records.

Minnesota: Dallas-L, Vegas-L, Washington-L, New Jersey-W, New Jersey-W 2W 3L 4 points 89 points
St. Louis: Nashville-W, Montreal-W, Nashville-W, Colorado-L 3W 1L 6 points 85 total
Vancouver: New Jersey-L, NYI-W, Columbus-W, Winnipeg-L 2W 2L 4 points 80 total
Calgary: Seattle-W, Dallas-L, Edmonton-L, Colorado-L 1W 3L 2 points 79 total
Utah: Detroit-W, Tampa Bay-L, Florida-L, Chicago-W 2W 2L 4 points 79 points

Hoping New Jersey beats Minnesota twice to close out March. Then we are tied for the first wildcard.

Also, need Toronto to physically beat up Nashville tonight.

[JoshInFenton]

3/22

Vancouver @ New York - New York won, big W for us.
Buffalo @ Minnesota - Minnesota did win as expected
Blackhawks @ Blues - Blues take care of business.
Calgary @ NYI - Calgary won in OT. So not much help from new york here who i thought had an ok shot to win it.
Tampa Bay @ Utah - Tampa mailed this one in bad. Really wasn't helpful.

3/23

Nashville Referees @ Blues - Blues managed to overcome all odds on a back-to-back against two teams at once.

3/24

Vancouver @ New Jersey - things really start to get critical for Vancouver with a loss here. I don't think the blues are losing more than 3 or 4 more times, they have some tough games coming up, so they need to win some contested games. New Jersey is beat up though.
Minnesota @ Dallas - If Minnesota wins this one, i think it's over as far as the dream of catching them. Think they'd get 9-10 points down the stretch, and 96-97 points would likely be too much for the blues to handle. Dallas will be a handful though.
Detroit @ Utah - a loss here by Utah would have similar implications to the Vancouver/NJD game. a loss and they'd need around 19-20 points in their last 11 to have a shot.