Welcome back, David Perron. The Blues have an obvious spring in their step, and a decent bit of it is coming from one of their missing pieces being back on the ice and scoring the only goal of the first period.

The other spring is coming from who they’re playing. For the 277th time, they’re facing off against the Blackhawks, and they’re playing this game like it was a playoff game. Within seconds of each other, David Backes laid out Jonathan Toews with a monster hit and Barrett Jackman leveled Ben Smith. Not to be left out of the checking, Chris Stewart plowed down Duncan Keith with his best freight train impression.

Watching this game is like watching a playoff game. If the Blues continue playing how they are right now, this could very well be on our TVs in late April. Blues and Blackhawks fans have both missed the playoff rivalries. It’d be welcomed back with open arms, with or without Ed Belfour.