The Blues seem fairly unstoppable. Sure, they hit a bit of a recent hiccup, but they're still leading the NHL with 103 points, and they bounced back in excellent form with a 4-0 shutout of the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday night. Brian Elliott didn't have to work too hard -- he only had to block 20 shots on net to get his league leading 8th shutout and the Blues' record setting 14th of the season. Tonight? Brian Elliott's going to get challenged. The Nashville Predators are 4-0-1 against the Blues this year, and it can probably be said that they're the Western Conference team that the Blues'd least like to meet up with in the playoffs. Pekka Rinne is a wall. He's one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, though he doesn't necessarily get a lot of attention for it. His GAA against the Blues is a near impeccable 1.33, which is impressive stuff.
Rinne isn't the only immobile part of the Predators team. Their defense has only gotten better since the addition of Hall Gill at the trade deadline, but the Blues still lead the league with 1.83 goals allowed a game on average to Nashville's 2.55... and that doesn't go out the window when the two teams meet up. The Blues haven't exactly allowed scads of goals against the Preds this year, and hopefully the Predators used up their goal-quota on Sunday with their 6-1 drubbing of the Chicago Blackhawks Sunday night. The Preds do have some firepower, especially between Mike Fisher, Shea Weber, and the Kostitsyn brothers.
A win tonight is another step towards the Blues' first Presidents' Trophy in over a decade.