The Blues take home ice away from the Avs thanks to scoring by committee; the Leafs should take notes
After a disappointing 2021 Playoff run, the St. Louis Blues came to play in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After dispatching of the dangerous Minnesota Wild in round one, the Blues drew the Colorado Avalanche in round two, and are have drawn even at 1-1 through the first two games of the series with a dominant 4-1 win on Thursday.
The Blues have taken a win by committee approach this year and it's showing on the scoresheet as the club leads the NHL playoffs with four players having at least 5 goals (Vladimir Tarasenko, David Perron, Jordan Kyrou and captain Ryan O'Reilly).
After being swept by the Avs in last year's playoffs, the Blues have come out and stolen home ice away from the Avalanche, arguably the favourites to win the Cup. The Blues now have an opportunity to take out one of the top teams in the postseason.
The Leafs should be watching this series and taking some notes, especially when it comes to pending UFA forward David Perron, who the Leafs will reportedly have interest in if he makes it to free agency on July 13th.
It has become commonplace for the Leafs to attempt to force plays to Auston Matthews and William Nylander, primarily Matthews, to generate most of their goal scoring. What the Blues are doing by weaponizing more than one stick is taking away the opposition's ability to read and anticipate plays and potentially cheat a bit to either block lanes or make saves. The Leafs can learn from this. Matthews is still going to get his goals. Maybe not 60, but he'll get plenty and it will make the Leafs a more dangerous team overall, which is what really matters in the playoffs.
