Blues Battle for a Home Win – STL 4, CBJ 1

After finishing their 3-game California road trip, the Blues returned home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets this Tuesday night. After a gritty- hard-fought game, the Blues and Davis Payne earned themselves their first win at home since Dec. 15^th, defeating the visitors 4-1.

The Blues had several factors in their favor going into tonight’s matchup

• Veteran Support: after missing a combined 9 games, Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya were back in the lineup tonight.
• House of Payne: the Jackets have not won at the Scottrade Center since 2007. Head coach Ken Hitchcock said it best – “that place is a graveyard for us.”
• Necessity: much like last game, tonight’s matchup was another must-win situation. The Blues needed to end this embarrassing home skid and they came through.

Even though the Blues had the upper hand going into the game, the Jackets are not a bad team by any stretch of the imagination. Tonight’s victory could be called no less than well-earned.

BJ Crombeen opened up the scoring early for the Blues, when he banged home a rebound from Jay McClement. Both McClement and Crombeen seem to be finding their game and are enjoying 3 and 2-game point streaks, respectively.

BJ’s early marker seemed to have rattled a few cages on the Jackets bench, and a penalty-filled 1^st period ensued. Cam Janssen fought Columbus heavyweight Jared Boll for the first of four scraps on the night. The game then took a crazy turn following a David Backes hit on captain Rick Nash.

Backes and Nash both dropped their gloves, as did Erik Johnson and Mike Commodore, who were both given a game misconduct and ejected for simultaneous fights. The game continued to be a hard-checking one which, of course led to more brawls. Crombeen decided that scoring the first goal wasn’t enough for him and dropped the gloves with Alexandre Picard.

Even with all the physical action, the Blues’ offense was just getting started. They added two more goals in the 1^st, a PPG from Alex Steen and an even-strength marker from McClement.

The 2^nd period proved a bit trickier for the Blues, who ran into a bit of penalty trouble. Roman Polak’s slashing minor provided the Jackets with a PPG from Fedor Tyutin at 5:38. The Blues straightened out quickly and began playing a more disciplined game.

Blues fans were probably worried going into the 3^rd with a 2-goal lead. That shouldn’t normally be the case but with the Blues’ recent troubles at home, who could blame the fans for a bit of skepticism? However, the Blues did an exemplary job of taking away the blue line and eliminating shooting lanes. Blocked shots is a hard stat to get a hold of, but I would bet the Notes blocked at least 12 good chances.

The 3^rd period marched on and the Blues’ defense still held. Better yet, they put the pedal to the metal in the final frame and were rewarded with an empty-netter, scored by Steen.

Maybe this is the turning point for the Blues. Tonight’s game is definitely a reminder that hard work = success. It should also be a hint that Davis Payne’s tweaked system is working. The forechecking changes alone were worth the coaching switch. And for some reason (he said sarcastically), the defense-first mentality is producing offense. Guys are making great stops behind our blue line and then taking the puck up ice for chances. Apparently, defense wins championships AND games. Blues fans have got to love where our Blues are now, with two more home games in the near future and a whole lot to prove. Look for the increasing confidence to help the Blues go on a streak or two down the stretch.