Now That’s More Like It

After last night’s underwhelming performance by the Blues in their preseason debut, the team responded tonight by hammering the Wild by a score of 5-1. There weren’t many positives last night, but tonight was a whole different animal. First, let’s start with the goaltending. It was a rough start for Ben Bishop, as he allowed a goal just 42 seconds into the contest. I have to admit, at this point I was getting a little worried. I’m a big Bishop fan, and I didn’t want to see what was likely one of his limited appearances to be a rough one. Bishop responded after the opening goal, and he shut the door for the remainder of the game. He made 23 saves on the night, 20 of which came in the final two periods. I know Jaroslav Halak and Jake Allen are both highly regarded, but Bishop has a chance to be a very good NHL goalie.

Now, on to the scoring. It was nice to see established guys like David Perron, Alex Steen, and Jay McClement put the puck in the net, but I have to admit I was most excited then Philip McRae netted the team’s first goal of the game. McRae has a chance to be a solid pro, and I know the team likes him a lot. David Backes worked his way into 2 assists, which is another good sign for the upcoming season.

Maybe the most impressive thing about tonight’s win was that all five Blues’ goals came while Wild starter Niklas Backstrom was in net. Backstrom is one of the better goalies in the league, so it’s not like the team got all this offensive output against a guy who will be playing in the AHL this season. It’s only the preseason, but plenty more things to be happy about tonight.

Here is a scoring recap for those who missed the game tonight.