Ducks Fly Past Blues – STL 2, ANA 4

The St. Louis Blues are showing everyone in the NHL that the path to the postseason lies on one slippery slope.

This Thursday, the Blues played their second of three games in California against the Anaheim Ducks. They fell to 0-2 on this road trip after losing 4-2 last night in Anaheim.

The Blues’ only two goals of the game came from Barret Jackman, whose last 2-goal game came more than 5 years ago. The Blues’ veteran defenseman scored the first of the game on a shorthanded rocket right off the faceoff. His other mark was a fluky shot that deflected off of two Ducks and past Jonas Hiller 56 seconds into the 3^rd period.

Through two periods, the only goals scored in each were by defenseman. James Wisniewski tied the game at 1 with a slap shot at 6:44 in the 2^nd period.

After opening up the 3^rd period with a goal, the Blues surrendered 3 unanswered to the Ducks. Team USA forward Bobby Ryan sniped a goal from the top of the circle through (surprise, surprise) Eric Brewer’s open legs.

Ryan’s tally tied the game at 2, but the Ducks weren’t satisfied with a tie. After a questionable knee-to-knee hit with Barret Jackman, rookie Matt Beleskey cleaned up a rebound from Corey Perry’s shot on Mason. The go-ahead marker was scored with (you guessed it) less than 2 minutes left in regulation. The Blues pulled Mason but, as usual, gave up an empty-netter after failing to possess the puck.

I think that this just another one of those heartbreak games that us Blues fans are seeing a lot of lately. Players are mostly doing the right things (except for defensive-zone turnovers) and we’re even getting the bounces (Jackman’s 2^nd). Mason’s playing better than he has been as of late, and our penalty kill has been phenomenal. The only thing the Blues seem to keep doing wrong is giving up great chances at the worst times.

Heatley’s OT goal? The play that led to Beleskey’s 2^nd of the year? There’s a million different instances of the Blues giving up untimely, game-ending goals. They’re starting to get the idea of a FULL 60 minutes, but seem to be petering out within the last 2-3 minutes.

Defense should be the top and only priority in games that close. That’s why giving up the lead at the tail end of a game is near impossible to come back from. All the momentum goes against your team. Despite this glaring problem, I like where the Blues are right now. They’ll be closing out their 3-game trip in LA, where they need to prove to everyone that we’re still in this. Players young and old alike need to keep stepping up and working hard and we’ll get rewarded.