Blues Crack Islanders, Halak. Show Team Effort

The St. Louis Blues (17-8-2) defeated the New York Islanders (19-8-0) 6-4 this afternoon in New York.  The Blues lost two crucial games against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators on their road trip.  The match up today would be their most difficult yet, as the Islanders were ranked third in the league at the start of the day.

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This game was also the first meeting the Blues had with their former number 1 goaltender Jaroslav Halak.  The fact that Jaro had an 11 game win streak coming in to the game may have put a sour taste in the team’s mouth, especially considering the Blues are currently dealing with the absence of Brian Elliot in the net due to injury.  The Blues were also without defenseman Jay Bouwmeester and forward Alexander Steen.

Today’s win was big for both morale and the team’s Central Division standing.  Winning against the toughest of the three top tier teams they played in their last few games shows that they are capable of beating the Blackhawks and Predators.  The win also puts them in the second spot of the Central Division which they will hold if Nashville defeats Chicago in regulation play later today.  If not, it keeps them in a competitive position.

GAME RECAP

The Islanders took early control of the game but the Blues were able to hold them off from taking shots.  The Blues came back with some offense in the next minutes.  After 5 minutes, Paul Stastny was called for interference giving the Islanders their first power play.  As soon as the Blues killed the penalty Jori Lehtera was called for tripping.  At 7:57, Frans Nielsen scored a power play goal putting the Islanders up 1-0.

At 10:14 Chris Butler was charged with slashing, putting the Blues on the defensive for the third time.  The Blues killed it, allowing only a few shots.  At 13:05 Casey Cizikas was called for hooking Vladimir Tarasenko to give the Blues their first power play chance.  The Blues put a lot of shots on goal but couldn’t score.  With about 2 minutes left Ryan Strome caught a clear attempt and scored to put the Islanders up 2-0.  With 20 seconds left Michael Grabner found a rebound and scored, extending the Islanders’ lead 3-0 which they carried into the second period.

The Blues replaced Jake Allen with Martin Brodeur in the net at the start of the second.  59 seconds in to the period, Nick Leddy caught Steve Ott in the face to give the Blues power play number two.  The Blues dominated the power play again and Stastny eventually found an opening to make the score 3-1.  Kevin Shattenkirk and David Backes earned assists.  At 4:28 Butler took a shot from the blue line that Patrik Berglund redirected for the Blues’ second goal to soften the lead 3-2.  Butler and T.J. Oshie earned assists.  By six minutes, the Blues shifted the game’s momentum into their favor and hounded the Islanders.

At 7:15 Carl Gunnarsson took an elbow to the jaw and had to leave the game.  No penalty was called on the play.  At 7:42 Backes was called for a cross check to give the Islanders their fourth power play.  The Blues killed it without allowing too many shots.  At 10:43 Calvin De Hann was called for holding to give the Blues their third power play.  After some passing, Kevin Shattenkirk scored on a shot from below the Blue line in the last seconds on the power play to tie the game at 3.  Oshie and Joakim Lindstrom received assists.  At 16:32 Ryan Reaves and Anders Lee both went to the box for slashing for 4 on 4 play.  At 18:32 Stastny was miscalled for tripping.  The call ended up costing the Blues as John Taveras scored on the power play which gave the Islanders a 4-3 lead they took to the third.

After 1:19 Griffin Reinhart received a high sticking penalty, allowing the Blues their fourth power play.  The Blues didn’t play it as well as their others but still put a few shots on goal.  After 4:40 the Islanders took another penalty after Ryan Strome was called for hooking.  Shortly after the face-off Oshie scored a power play goal from the point at 4:51.  Shattenkirk and Lindstrom earned assists.  With 10 minutes left the Islanders jammed the puck in the net but the officials called no goal.  The play went under review but the call on the ice stood.

At 13:26 Stastny took a pass on the dark side of the net and scored to give the Blues a 5-4 lead.  Lindstrom and Barret Jackman earned the assists.  The Islanders increased their efforts as time ran down.  Despite this, Tarasenko scored on a shot from the goal line at 17:32 to extend the Blues’ lead to 6-4.  Jaden Schwartz and Lehtera earned assists.  With a minute left, the Islanders pulled Jaroslav Halak from the net.  The Blues held off the Islanders and closed the game 6-4.

HOW THEY PLAYED

This win was no doubt a team effort, as goals came from different lines.  This remedies the concern that only linemates Jaden Schwartz, Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko were winning games.  Players that haven’t typically made plays or have been cold for a while were the front runners.  Paul Stastny scored two goals.  Kevin Shattenkirk broke a dry spell with a goal and two helpers.  Most impressive, though, was Joakim Lindstrom who earned himself three assists as a late addition in the absence of Alexander Steen.

The Blues also drastically improved their power play performance.  In games past, they couldn’t find a goal over 9+ power play opportunities.  Today they scored in three of five chances and put up very strong pressure in all.  While they should have given up fewer goals on Islander power plays, they still beat their opponents in chances with 60% to the Islanders’ 40%.

Chris Butler has gained some ice time with Jay Bouwmeester out due to injury.  Butler was responsible for a lot of the action and kept the puck in the Islanders’ zone for many of the crucial plays.  He also showed confidence in taking shots when given the chance, which is something he shied away from in his earlier games.

Sometimes calls don’t go your way, that’s just the way the game goes.  No matter how disciplined a team plays, bad calls will happen, which is why it is important to have a solid penalty kill.  The Blues still need to work on penalty kills for when things don’t work in their favor.  The bad tripping call against Stastny late in the second period was evidence for this, as it could have been the call that cost the team the game had they not played so well in the third.

I’m happy Jaroslav Halak has found success with the Islanders, despite losing his win streak to his former team today.  No doubt he is integral in his team’s current success and he has regained his stride.  He gave up six to the Blues but that doesn’t mean he didn’t play well.  Beating the guy you gave up justifies the trade but I feel the Blues organization and fans are proud of Jaro regardless.

What are your thoughts on the game?  Feel free to leave your comments below.