St. Louis Blues Suffer Disappointing Loss To Avalanche

The St. Louis Blues (21-10-3) lost to the Colorado Avalanche (13-13-8) 5-0 in a disappointing game tonight in Colorado. After some bad luck on their road trip the Blues hoped to double up on their prior win against the Avalanche to change their momentum. Colorado came in to the game with wins in their past two. The Blues couldn’t pull through and their loss tonight puts them farther behind the first and second place Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators, respectively.

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GAME RECAP

The Blues made some bad defensive plays in the first minute of the game. They managed to move the puck around but didn’t tighten their play much in the first five minutes. At 6:37 Joakim Lindstrom took a hooking penalty. Then at 7:29 Kevin Shattenkirk was called for high-sticking for 1:09 of 5 on 3 play. The Blues killed the first penalty then had 49 seconds left on the second which they managed to kill as well.

At 11:43 Daniel Briere took a holding penalty. The Blues couldn’t score on the power play. Colorado maintained control and at 15:02 Erik Johnson scored to put the Avalanche up 1-0. At 17:29 T.J. Oshie was called for slashing. Then at 18:45 Zach Redmon scored a power play goal to bump the lead 2-0. The period ended with the Avalanche up 2-0.

The Blues’ sticks found the puck much better at the start of the second period. Despite this, at 5:51 Alex Tanguay deflected a puck in the goal. The play went under review and was eventually called a goal. The Avalanche went ahead 3-0. After 6:13 David Backes went to the box for roughing after play. The Blues killed the penalty. After being outshot 10-1 through ten minutes, the Blues created a little more offense.

At 13:40 Steve Ott and Nathan MacKinnon were given matching minors for roughing which put the teams 4 on 4. Shortly after the teams went back to 5 on 5, Jay Bouwmeester went to the box for delay of game. At 16:47 Ryan O’Reilley scored a power play goal to give the Avalanche a healthy 4-0 lead. Then at 17:27 Jarome Iginla score to boost the lead to 5-0. At 17:58 Maxim Lapierre went to the box for high-sticking. With 10 seconds left Tanguay took an interference penalty. The Blues killed their penalty and ended the second period with some remaining power play time.

The Blues started the third period with 1:50 of power play time and put Martin Brodeur in the net. They didn’t do much with the power play but played stronger offensively after the teams went even-strength. The Blues made some of their best efforts as time went on. At 11:16 Jan Hedja received a tripping penalty. The Blues took a few shots but failed to score on the power play. The Blues played the rest of the period with increased effort but failed to score and lost the game 5-0.

HOW THEY PLAYED

It is hard to think of an accurate way to describe just how poorly the Blues played the first period. Nobody seemed to know what anyone else was doing. It was like watching a barbershop quartet but each member was singing a different song and they just kept going. The Blues failed to pass, they failed to clear, they couldn’t get a shot and they couldn’t claim their dumped pucks. Colorado changed their game since they last played the Blues and the Blues failed to adapt. This didn’t make the outlook of the game look favorable considering the Blues have a habit of starting strong and fading over the 2nd and 3rd periods.

In recent games the Blues have had a problem with taking way too many penalties which allowed their opponents to score as the power play percentage odds fell in their favor. It was surprising that Colorado didn’t score on the first power play. It was even more surprising that they didn’t score when the Blues doubled on their penalty to make play 5 on 3. Jake Allen and Alex Pietrangelo did great to kill the penalties. But the third penalty cost them. Leaving the first period with three penalties is not a great way to play.

On top of all that, the penalty David Backes took in the second was unnecessary and is not behavior you would expect from a team captain when his team is down by three. After 3 penalties in the first you’d think the Blues would play more disciplined but they took another 4 with 3 putting them at a disadvantage and the matched roughing call stopping Vladimir Tarasenko on a breakaway. The Blues gave up another power play goal in the second.

Dump and chase play doesn’t seem to be a good offensive strategy unless a team needs to make a line change. When the Blues stopped dumping in the second period and carried pucks in to Colorado’s zone they were able to get more shots on goal. They continued to make more carry plays in the third and gained a few more chances.

The main problem with tonight’s game is that the Blues were downright out-played. Colorado moved the puck with accuracy and speed. The Blues didn’t. When put in defensive situation the Blues’ players shadowed the puck-handlers instead of challenging them. They played a reactive defense instead of proactive one. This allowed Colorado to carry the puck, pass freely and take shots. Colorado played an opposite sort of game and hounded the Blues’ players. As a result the Blues made frantic plays that caused a truck-load of turnovers, missed passes and panicked penalties.

Despite giving up 5 goals and being taken out after two periods, Jake Allen cannot be blamed for this loss. He may have been one of the few players on the team who showed up to the game tonight. Hopefully the assault he faced in the net won’t discourage him in his next start. Though, it is likely he’ll get the next game off.

After the disappointment tonight, the Blues need to go in to their next game and do everything better. Everything.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.

99. Final. 5. 103. 0

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