Blackhawks vs Blues live stream: Watch online free 8:10 ET NHL Playoffs game 1 in St. Louis for a best-of-seven series between the two and three seeds in the Central Division.

The Blues collapsed from potentially not only winning the division, but having the most points in the Western Conference and maybe even the entire NHL. Colorado surpassed them and now St. Louis will be home vs the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. Watch the free live stream online to see who takes game 1.

Watch the free live stream online of the Blackhawks vs Blues

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The Blues will look to bring the physicality to a finesse team in the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks.

"Sometimes you go into these series and you think a little too much about the physical play or what's going to happen and it throws you off," said Kane, who could start the series playing right wing on the third line. "We've just got to go out there, play hockey, play the way we know how to play and not worry about all that other stuff, whether it happens after the whistle or during the play."

St. Louis had just one full practice between the end of the regular season and the series opener. The time off was used primarily for rest and recovery. Hampered by a growing number of missing players, the Blues went into a tailspin to end the regular season, losing six straight games and scoring less than two goals in the last nine in a row, according to NHL.com.

"I think we're OK," defenseman Jay Bouwmeester said. "There's a certain way we have to play, obviously, and just lately maybe we've gotten away from that a little bit. The last two games against [the Blackhawks] weren't our best effort, for sure. I think we just have to go back and remind ourselves what we did to have success and go from there.