Blues Defeat Oilers In Close Game

The St. Louis Blues (15-6-2) defeated the Edmonton Oilers (6-14-4) 4-3 in a close game tonight in St. Louis.  The Blues entered the game well rested and coming off a frustrating loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.  The Oilers came to St. Louis after a loss at the hands of the Nashville Predators the night before and a longer string of disappointing games.  Both teams had good reasons to want a win tonight.  Fortunately for the Blues, they were the ones who earned it, which helps stay on the tail of the first place Nashville Predators.

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GAME RECAP

Action was light in the first two minutes until Steve Ott and Steve Pinizzotto dropped their gloves and received matching five minute fighting majors.  After four minutes the Blues found their groove and took control of the play.  At 4:51 Leon Draisaitl was called for holding.  The Blues assaulted the net throughout the power play and after but couldn’t manage to find a goal.  T.J. Oshie took a drop pass from Vladimir Tarasenko to score at 11:35 and put the Blues on the board 1-0.  Ian Cole earned the second assist.  The Blues continued to dominate until the horn and left the period with a 1-0 lead and having outshot the Oilers 15-3.

The Oilers started the second period with stronger organization but couldn’t add to their shot count much.  After 5 mintues the Blues regained their dominance.  However, at 5:51 David Perron found an opening to tie the game and give the Oilers a performance boost as the period went on.  The teams played back and forth but at 16:46 Nikita Nikitin scored the Oilers’ second goal to give them the lead.  They took this lead to the third.

Within the first minute of the third period the Blues gained control which allowed Kevin Shattenkirk to score off the Blue line and tie the game. Oshie earned the sole assist.  After about four minutes Mark Arcobello scored in response to put the Oilers ahead 3-2.  At 12:25 Alex Pietrangelo scored after a series of rebounds which tied the game at 3.  Oshie received another sole assist.  Then at 14:15 Oscar Klefbom knocked the puck over the glass and was called for delay of game to give the Blues their second power play of the night.  The Blues had a chance on the power play but couldn’t find a goal.  The score remained tied until the end to send the game into overtime.

2:49 into overtime the Oilers were called for tripping which gave the Blues a 4 on 3 advantage.  The Blues got a few shots but came out empty handed.  With 39 second left, Vladimir Tarasenko scored on a shot from the point to give the Blues the win.  Jori Lehtera and Pietrangelo received assists.

HOW THEY PLAYED

Without a question, tonight’s game belonged to T.J. Oshie.  He recorded a goal and two assists making him a contributor to 3 of the 4 Blues goals.  In addition his line played at peak performance and had the greatest control of the action.  This is good news for Oshie, who has had an uncharacteristically low contribution this season.  Oshie’s production tonight was doubly important because aside from the game winner, Tarasenko and his linemates couldn’t find their stride.

The fourth line of Ryan Reaves, Steve Ott and Maxim Lapierre has been hot in recent games as well.  While these three were slightly cooler this game they still made smooth plays indicative of their talent.  I’m hoping tonight was an off night for them and they their efforts will continue to be game deciders for the team.

It is never good to underestimate your opponent and expect any game to be a cakewalk.  That said, this game shouldn’t have been such a tough win.  The first period almost played out like the Blues were working on their formations against a practice team.  The rest of the game, though wasn’t as dominant.  Dominance is, of course, a great thing.  Despite not scoring on the first power play, their succession of shots was impressive.  This can be misleading, though.  Earlier this season and in a few recent games the Blues had a difficult time getting shots on goal.  Tonight they perhaps had too many shots on goal.  Where before they lacked quantity, tonight they lacked quality.  Even though the Oilers lost, their scoring percentage was much higher.  We’re seeing an indication that the Blues are a multi-line team.  If  they can now average their quality and quantity of shots, they will have easier games in the future.

What are your thoughts?  Leave your comments below.