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Like, a hockey team can have a positive attitude about the way it’ll play a game. And then, in said game, a hockey team can play with an attitude.

The second version is nasty and gnarly, tenacious and impatient, frenetic and unapologetic.

That was the Blues in Game 3.

It’s got to be the Blues in Game 4.

St. Louis played Game 3 at home with an attitude and swagger, unleashing hit after hit, instigating and agitating along the way. The Blues were not afraid of the moment — that being, if the Blues lost the game, they would’ve fallen, 3-0 in the series, to the Winnipeg Jets. And St. Louis sure isn’t afraid or intimidated by the Jets’ President’s Trophy. The Blues played Game 3 like a team that feels it belongs — and can compete for a different piece of hardware.

OK, go do it again Sunday at high noon.

“We have a big, big belief in this group,� Blues veteran Oskar Sundqvist said.

After Saturday’s practice, I asked Blues coach Jim Montgomery if he’s seeing an attitude.

“Well,� he said, “I’ve liked our confidence and self-belief throughout the series, but I liked our attitude and how aggressive we were, offensively and defensively, to start the last game — and for the 60 minutes.�

In Game 3, the Blues finished with an absurd total of hits — 54 — including eight from the unneighborly Jake Neighbours and six from Nathan Walker, who’s the size of the Notre Dame linebacker “Rudy,� but hits like Lawrence Taylor. Walker, in fact, finished the season with the most hits in Blues history, and in Game 3, he finished hit after hit, pegging Winnipeg players into the boards, in efforts to help save the season.

Montgomery shared that he will be “trying to stay ahead� of any adjustments the Jets’ staff makes, but “the thing that’s really important for us is that we stay true to who we are, like our identity — that attitude of being aggressive, offensively and defensively. The changes that we thought we would make, I don’t even know if they materialized. It was just more of an attitude that was different about us.�

Winnipeg will surely make changes after a 7-2 loss. The Jets had plenty of hits, too, but were reactionary in many. And their top guys weren’t top guns. But the Blues must be the Blues, regardless. They developed an identity during the final couple months — a “stingy� identity, Neighbours once called it, which showcases their confidence and, yes, attitude.

“I think we like to play kind of a hardnosed brand of hockey,� said St. Louis defenseman Cam Fowler, who exploded in Game 3 with five points, the most-ever by a Blues defenseman in a postseason game. “I think when our guys are skating and forechecking, that’s really what makes us a hard team to play against. And, you know, I think we like to really pay attention to our details and play a structured game.

“So I think there’s a lot that goes into (our identity), but if I had to pick one thing, it’s the forechecking of our group and our speed, and that helps us play at a high pace — and helps us create momentum in hockey games, as well.�

The Blues have actually set a competitive tone in all three first periods, so far. But in Game 3, they carried it into the rest of the game. Sure, if Jordan Binnington had caught that one puck one millimeter back into the net, the Jets would’ve been given that goal (and the game would’ve been 3-1). But Binnington made the save. And the deflated Jets couldn’t get much going. Kyle Connor was one of the Winnipeg stars entering Game 3, but the only time we really heard his name called was when fans chanted “CON-NOR! CON-NOR!� … in reference to rattled goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

And yeah, that’s another part of it. The attitude within the atmosphere. The Blues play well in front of Blues fans. St. Louis hasn’t lost in St. Louis in two months.

“I mean, we’re definitely comfortable at home,� Fowler said. “Obviously, we have amazing fans. That environment for game three was incredible and gave us a lot of energy and momentum in the game. And our fans have been showing up for us all year long. So I think it’s a place where there’s a lot of energy and excitement in the arena, and as athletes, that helps us get excited and stay motivated. We just always want to make sure it’s a hard place for teams to come in and play, and you have to have that in the playoffs.�

The thing about attitude is it has to be collective. Infectious. A couple key guys can’t be the only ones buzzing. Line after line must be rolling. That’s hard to do against the mighty Jets. But the pressure is clearly on Winnipeg. The Blues are in their first postseason since the retool began; the Jets are primed to vie for the Cup with their standout and seasoned players. Oh, and the Jets lost in the first round the past two years. Oh, and Hellebuyck is the league’s most-reliable regular-season goalie and the most-unreliable playoff goalie on the road.

The Blues know who the Blues are. Heck, they won 12-striaght games toward the end of the regular season. So they clearly have a positive attitude heading into the biggest game (so far) of their postseason — but will they find the mindset and activate the energy to play with a Game 3 attitude in Game 4?

I think so.