The St. Louis Blues allowed an average of 28.4 shots on goal per game during the regular season, which makes the 52 Minnesota put on net in Game 1 even more astounding. By the numbers, the Wild completely dominated Game 1.
- Shots on goal: 52 to 26
- Hits: 35 to 18
- Takeaways: 15 to 6
- Faceoffs won: 47 to 33
- Held superstar Vladimir Tarasenko to 4 shots
- Zach Parise’s 7 shots on goal were his most in a game since Oct. 23
- Jason Zucker tied a season high with 6 shots on goal
- Charlie Coyle tied a season high with 6 shots on goal
- Mikael Granlund’s 6 shots on goal were one shy of his season high
- Erik Haula tied a season high with 5 shots on goal
Still, they lost 2-1 in overtime and now trail 1-0 in the best-of-seven series with Game 2 in St. Paul Friday night.
Among all the dominating stats, one stands out Thursday morning: According to NHL.com, of the Wild’s 52 shots on goal, none were tipped shots. That’s a pretty good indicator that Blues goalie Jake Allen saw almost everything clearly en route to a career-high 51 saves.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes the Blues are toast if they play Game 2 like they played Game 1, but the Wild’s inability to find the back of the net can’t be overlooked. It’s one of the main reasons they went through a March slump.
Shooting percentage is key in the playoffs, and Minnesota’s in Game 1 was obviously bad despite a constant attack on the Blues.
