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Chicago Blackhawks: Looking at the potential first-round opponents

By Vincent Parise

ST. LOUIS, MO - FEBRUARY 25: Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks defends the goal against Ryan OReilly #90 of the St. Louis Blues during the second period at the Enterprise Center on February 25, 2020 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - FEBRUARY 25: Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks defends the goal against Ryan OReilly #90 of the St. Louis Blues during the second period at the Enterprise Center on February 25, 2020 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues are the defending Stanley Cup champions. They really didn’t have a hangover at any point this year either as they were cruising to another playoff berth and ended up being crowned as the Central Division champions. They have a really good roster and one that is certainly capable of going back to back. The Hawks would have their hands full if they were to play them in this round.

Their three leading scorers this season were Ryan O’Reilly (61), David Perron (60) and Brayden Schenn (58). None of them are capable of scoring goals the way that Vladamir Tarasenko is. Tarasenko missed most of the year with injury but the pause has allowed him to recover and come back in time. These guys should have an easy time putting the puck in the net.

They have a stud defenseman named Alex Pietrangelo who is one of the very best at his trade in the whole world. Their goaltender, Jordan Binnington, burst onto the scene in 2019 and hasn’t stopped. He went all the way to the Cup with them last year and is looking to do it again. Whoever draws the Blues will have no fun trying to contain that core. The Blackhawks went 0-4 against them this season so they would need a major turnaround to get past them.

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