David Backes, Brian Elliott show they've got what it takes in the crunch
— -- ST. LOUIS -- Now the St. Louis Blues can just play hockey.
In winning 1-0 in Game 1 against the rival Chicago Blackhawks and doing it the way they did it, the Blues wiped out so many of the concerns and questions that would have started to pile on had it gone another way.
The Blues had to take advantage of playing the Blackhawks without the suspended Duncan Keith. They did exactly that. A loss would have been viewed as a major squandered opportunity by a team with too many in its postseason history.
That concern is gone.
Fairly or unfairly, the production of the captains was inevitably going to be compared. Blues captain David Backes had one goal in his previous 10 playoff games, production that looks worse when Chicago's Jonathan Toews seems to find another gear to lift his team into the next round, often eventually lifting a Stanley Cup.
After his winning goal, one that came on a sharp angle shot off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, the pressure on Backes has been released. A least momentarily.
In a game in which his teammates too often made one extra pass, Backes did what you need to do in overtime -- send the puck toward the net. It led to the first winning playoff goal of his career.
"I grab it, throw it in front, see it hit skate and then you see it disappear," Backes said after the game. "You say a quick prayer and it was answered when I saw it go behind him and into the net."
And then he went into full-on captain mode.
"We'll have a little fun, we'll enjoy this for another 25 minutes until midnight and we'll have to refocus," Backes said. "We've been up 1-0 against this team before, they don't stop. They don't quit. We have to have the same mentality."
Then there's Blues goalie Brian Elliott.
These Blues are built to win a Stanley Cup. They've got the ingredients up and down the lineup. There's just one glaring question and that's whether they'll get the goaltending. Same as it always has been.
If Elliott flops in Game 1, even if he lets in one single bad goal in overtime, the speculation kicks in immediately. When is Jake Allen going to play? Do the Blues have faith in Elliott? Is he capable of replicating his regular-season success in the playoffs?
Elliott was great in Game 1.
He finished with 35 saves, but it wasn't only the saves he made that showed he's ready for this stage.
He was directing traffic and making plays with the puck. He showed his athleticism in ways you can't do as a goalie if you're timid or playing scared.
As the game went on, it became more apparent he was settling in and making the kinds of plays he needs to make to be successful.
"Els was phenomenal," Backes said. "He's been all year whenever he's been called upon. Tonight was no different. Huge saves when we needed it. Stoppages when we were under duress. A couple cheeky puck plays where he's moving it up and we're able to exit a lot easier. ... He kept us in there long enough for us to find one."
In doing so, Elliott earned his first shutout in the playoffs and the first for the Blues since Chris Osgood got one in 2003, in case you were wondering how long playoff goaltending has been an issue in St. Louis.
With one small comment, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock acknowledged that perhaps there was a problem with Elliott in the past when it came to playing in the playoffs. One that's now gone. Again, for the moment.
"He's comfortable in this setting now," Hitchcock said. "You see his athleticism come out now."
Now.
The Blues don't need us to tell them that one win doesn't mean a thing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Especially when it comes on opening night. Especially when it comes against this Blackhawks team, one that needs more than a single overtime one-goal loss to be rattled in the least.
But there was pressure on St. Louis. Pressure not to blow home-ice advantage right off the hop. Pressure to capitalize on Keith's absence. Pressure for the captain to step up in a big moment.
That all happened.
They get 25 minutes to enjoy it and then it's back at it.
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