A young, talented Blues team had been bounced in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs two years running and it was presumed that the 1/1A goalie tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot was in need of an upgrade.
It wasn't so much that the tandem was terrible, they shared the Jennings Trophy in 2011-12 for lowest goals against average, but the opportunity for an upgrade in net presented itself with the availability of Miller.
"Ryan Miller's resume' speaks for itself" said Blues GM Doug Armstrong about the trade for the netminder. “He has this little bit of swagger about him,” Armstrong said of Miller. “He’s got confidence...Selfishly, I think we have a better chance to win and I think he makes us a little bit better.”
The "bet" on acquiring Miller was that the team would not only get out of the first round but would make it to the Western Conference Finals. The move was looked upon as turning a Stanley Cup contender into a Stanley Cup favorite.
But, up to this point in the playoffs Miller has not been that difference maker. In fact the Blues are on the verge of being eliminated in the first round once again.
Miller finished the regular season on a five game losing streak and the Blues lost their final six games. That slump cost them the division and conference leads and set them up for a matchup with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.
Right now their hated rivals have the Blues on the ropes with a 3-2 series advantage. St. Louis travels to Chicago for game six today.
In St. Louis, there's a serious sense of deja vu. This series is lining up just like last year's 4-2 series loss to the LA Kings.
An eerily familiar carbon copy to this point.
 |
| (from EKolb13) |
If this trend continues, Chicago should close out the series with a 2-1 victory.
Miller has his legacy in his hands this afternoon. He will either be emerge as the elite goaltender that Armstrong traded for or will end up as just another good one with a great team in front of him like Halak and Elliot before him.
No pressure.
He has the dynastic, defending Cup champion Blackhawks with the likes of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, Marion Hossa and Patrick Sharp sniping at him. All of them some of the best in the game up-front.
He has the weight of a franchise that has never won the Stanley Cup in it's 46 year of existence upon his shoulders.
He has the weight of the trade bearing down upon him, a team up-front that isn't close to the aforementioned Blackhawks and a defense that has had some serious blunders so far in the series.
Although the Blues have skill, grit and a large amount of determination, it's all on Miller's shoulders today.
He will need to be focused from the drop of the puck. No softies like Game-3 (a 1-0 loss.)
He'll need to fight through the traffic and corral tipped shots. He'll need pull off a remarkable save or four to get and/or keep the Blues' mojo going.
*shrugs*
No pressure.
Today's game is merely career-defining game for Miller and a franchise-defining moment for the Blues.
I've been saying all along that Miller in Hitchcock's system behind that defense is a strong fit and I still believe that.
They have the pieces to pull this one out.
No comments:
Post a Comment