Entering Game 4 on Monday night, only the Blues and the Hawks had the possibility of sweeping their respective opponents. However, while the Hawks choked, the Blues came through with a 4-3 win over Minnesota and eliminating them from the 2009 BRHL2 Playoffs.
The Blues depended strong defensive play and unlikely heroes to tame the Wild. Evgeni Nabokov conceded 6 goals on 116 shots and leads all goalies in the playoffs with a .948 save percentage. Nabokov has been the Blues' best penalty killer, although 5th amongst playoff teams, it is still an outstanding 94.4%. Special teams usually are the difference between two teams in the playoffs, and while St Louis had a poor powerplay, its special teams have consistently been at a high level. The Blues had the best penalty kill in the regular season and have kept up the pressure against their opposition. Nicklas Hagman's 2nd of the season at 12:26 of the 1st period in game 4 was the first powerplay goal the Blues have allowed.
Unlikely heroes have been chipping in at key moments throughout the series, Mike Fisher has been a rock at center. 4 goals in the series, including a powerplay, shorthanded and game winning goal, has meant that the second line center has been providing the leadership GM Evans wanted him to bring when he acquired the two-way center from Carolina. And after Hagman's opener in the 1st, Fisher scored the equalizer just before the 1st ended.
The second period went scoreless although both teams had chances on the powerplay, but could only manage 8 shots a piece during the period.
However, Scott Nichol scored his 3rd of the series, after having the game winner in Game 3, Nichol's goal 22 seconds into the third shocked the Minnesota Wild. This paved the way for Rolston's 1st of the series assisted by Staal and Datsyuk. With Minnesota failing to score more than 2 goals this entire series, the lead felt safe enough for the Blues to relax. Rod Brind'Amour, who had been quiet all series, finally got a puck by Nabokov to bring the Blues back down to reality. But after Pavel Kubina was ejected for a high-stick against Brian Rolston, the Blues made them pay. Hal Gill, who has shocked analysts by his 3 assists in the first three games, scored his 1st of the series. Gill only had 6 points in 23 regular season games, but he's in Norris winning form this year. Although Mike Ribeiro scored with less than 5 minutes to go and a Pavel Datsyuk penalty in the last minute made things interesting, asking Minnesota to score a fourth was too much to ask.
The Blues now await their second round opponent, with Chicago, Colorado and Dallas all with 3-1 leads the winners seem obvious barring any major upsets. If all manage to close out their series, the Blues will face Colorado in the next round. The Blues will be given one day's rest before heading back to practice.
