From the moment the official starting lineups were posted and it showed Ken Hitchcock starting built-like-a-tank bruiser Ryan Reaves on the left side of David Backes and T.J. Oshie, it was clear the tone would be a lot different in Game 2 than in Game 1.
The Blues tried to flex their muscles Saturday afternoon.
Reaves threw his weight around, Steve Ott was at his agitating best and Russian phenom Vladimir Tarasenko scored the first hat trick against the Wild in playoff history as the Blues worked to even the best-of-seven series at 1 games apiece with a 4-1 victory.