Blues vs. Wild: Offense, goaltending take center stage in Game 1

While everyone is salivating over a potential Claude Julien rematch against his former club in the second round, I’d like to remind you that Mike Yeo is facing the Wild in the first round.

Yeo returns to the Twin Cities with a Blues team missing Kevin Shattenkirk and a veteran backup to Jake Allen. Bruce Boudreau, on the other hand, has a slowly warming Devan Dubnyk and a Wild team that finished the year on a four-game win streak.

It’s not the most attractive of series, but the revenge factor is a very interesting subplot to this Central Division dance.

Minnesota got the best of St. Louis in the middle of the season, but the Blues rallied to take the series 3-2 after Allen held the Wild to one goal on 33 shots back in March. When the Wild were rolling in December and January, however, their offense was unstoppable as they outscored the Blues 8-2 over a pair of games. Allen will need to be up to the task like he was the last time these two teams played.

Devan Dubnyk. It’s no secret the goaltender has struggled over the last few months, as Dubnyk’s put together a .908 save percentage in 36 games since Jan. 1. The Wild are a solid team in front of Dubnyk, but they’ll need their starter should they want to take down the Blues. St. Louis’ attack can be deadly, so it’s right into the fire for Dubnyk.

Whose offense gets hot and whose goaltender is ultimately up to the task. Allen is coming into his first playoff series as the untested starter, after his tandem parter Brian Elliott was traded last offseason. The Wild have the second-best goals-per-game metric in the NHL behind Pittsburgh, so Allen won’t have anyone to fall back on should he falter.

Minnesota’s late-season win streak seems to have calmed down the Wild just enough. It’s a toss-up, but if Dubnyk is on his game from puck drop then it’s Minnesota’s to lose. Wild take a close Game 1.