Blues vs. Blackhawks: 3 things you need to know

WEST
ANA vs. DAL | SJS vs. LAK
COL vs. MIN | STL vs. CHI
EAST
BOS vs. DET | TBL vs. MTL
PIT vs. CBJ | NYR vs. PHI

This first round series features two teams with serious Stanley Cup aspirations; The Chicago Blackhawks enter the playoffs as the defending champions, while the St. Louis Blues finished the season with 111 points, tied for fourth overall in the league, and appear poised to win their first Cup in franchise history.

Unfortunately for one of these teams, their playoff run will last no more than seven games, which will be seen as a massive disappointment for either side.

Here are three things you need know:

Miller Time

The St. Louis Blues acquired Ryan Miller prior to the NHL's trade deadline, in the hopes of tangibly upgrading their goaltending. While Miller impressed early in his tenure with the club, he - along with the team as a whole - faltered down the stretch, causing some concern heading into the playoffs.

Here's a month-to-month comparison that encapsulates Miller's time with the Blues to date.

The 33-year-old brings with him four years of postseason experience, including back-to-back Eastern Conference finals appearances with the Buffalo Sabres in 2006 and 2007. In 47 career playoff games, Miller has recorded a save percentage of .917 with three shutouts, and will need to be on top of his game in order for the Blues to advance.

Taking advantage of scoring chances

The Blues and Blackhawks boast a wealth of talent on the blue line (Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester, to name a few), as well as a host of tremendous two-way forwards (such as Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, David Backes and Vladimir Sobotka.) 

As such, scoring is likely to be at a premium in this series, Miller's aforementioned struggles notwithstanding.

The Blues ranked third in the NHL, allowing a meager 2.29 goals allowed per game, while the Blackhawks were 12th with an average of 2.58 goals against. That margin tightens, however, in terms of shots allowed; St. Louis allowed an average of 26.4 shots per game (second overall), while Chicago (third) allowed 27.2.

Offensively, Chicago brings an average of 3.18 goals and 33.1 shots per game to the table, while St. Louis countered with 2.92 goals on 29.3 goals per game.

In order for the Blues to advance they'll need a combination of strong defensive play and an ability to jump on scoring opportunities when they are available.

Fatigue / Health Factor

Something to consider in advance of this series is just how much hockey the Blackhawks have played over the past year. Since the end of the lockout in 2013, Chicago has played 130 regular season games and 23 playoff games, while no fewer than ten members of this year's club skated at the Winter Olympics in Sochi (six of whom played all the way until the gold medal game.) 

For their part, the St. Louis Blues also sent ten players to the Sochi, but they only played six playoff games last season. 

On top of that, injuries may play a big factor in this series. Both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane spent time on injured reserve to end the regular season, but both are expected to be ready to go for Game 1; whether they will be skating at 100 percent, however, is information that certainly will not be disclosed any time soon.

The Blues are also dealing with a plethora of injuries, as T.J. Oshie, David Backes, Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, and Brenden Morrow were all banged up during the final week of the season to varying degrees.

The Blues took the season series 3-2-0, with two wins coming in the shootout and three games decided by one goal or less. 

With these two teams so evenly matched, it may come down to which can stay the sharpest and the healthiest.

Schedule