St. Louis Blues Make Meat Of Nashville Predators

The pre-game festivities apparently served as the cap to Martin Brodeur Day. Brodeur dropped the puck for the Blues-Preds game, and entered the ice with a big smile and a handshake for all his former teammates. Signs saying “Thank you Marty” lit the arena and Blues fans stood and cheered for our new Assistant GM who played 7 games, won his 691st, and earned his 125th shutout on the Blues.

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Pucks and Pitchforks

It was clearly an emotional moment for Brodeur, even if he doesn’t plan to stay with the Blues beyond the end of the season. A change in career always necessitates some reflection, especially if you’ve left a job you loved and did well. However he was positive and forward looking in his pre-game interview with Darren Pang, calling his newest position within the organization “a new adventure.”

The Game

Nashville and St. Louis are similarly-giftend teams and the game was fast and physical from the start. This was not a game of speed, where both teams spend most of their time in the neutral zone; this was a game of strength, with players muscling the puck across the line come hell or high water.

It took until the seventh minute of the game for the Predators to register a shot on goal against Brian Elliott, testament to the Blues defense considering that last time they met Nashville took an incredibly high 47 shots on goal.

St. Louis, on the other hand, was full of good shots Thursday night. Shattenkirk, Steen, Tarasenko all had great chances in the first, but despite all the opportunities the Blues found themselves out in the cold during the first.

It seems like they play a lot like us. They throw the puck to the net a lot, they got all four lines that are working hard, their D are very good at taking checks and moving the puck and their goaltending is outstanding. It’s a very similar team, it’s a battle, and one that we like to get up for.

There was a bit of a scrum with 8 minutes left in the first, putting Nashville on the power play and the Blues on the penalty kill.

And then Laviolette’s habit of funneling the puck to the net worked.

Sadly for St. Louis, Carrie Underwood’s husband took that moment to redirect a shot behind Elliott. While it’s nice to see men have their own interests, I could have lived without him scoring that particular goal.

This put Nashville up 1-0.

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After a tv timeout Shea Weber got a little too excited on the ice, and gave the Blues two shots at a power play when he went to the box for cross-checking and roughing. St. Louis did not capitalize on the opportunity and the period ended before the Blues could score.

The second period was absolutely hectic, full of good offense and some great goals. To start us off, Filip Forsberg scored on a confusing criss-crossing play in front of Elliott, bringing the score 2-0 Nashville. But we couldn’t count St. Louis out just yet.

In the 9th minute of the period that the Blues were finally able to put a puck in the net. Tarasenko carried the puck in in a rush (showing us speed we didn’t see out of him during the NHL All-Star Skills competition) shot, and Schwartz popped it in on the rebound. It was a nice return for the STL line and a relief for Blues fans who had begun to get nervous about the game. 2-1, Preds.

The goal seemed to energize the Blues. T.J. Oshie certainly took it to heart — he must have been eating his Oshie O’s. He put it in on a great drive to the net where he skated circles (literal circles) around the Preds defense. 2-2

23 seconds later Ott apparently decided he was tired of being left out at that point, and slammed one in behind Hutton off a rebound of Shattenkirk’s shot. 3-2 Blues.

In revenge Mike Fisher tied the game with 4:28 to go in the second, but Ryan Reaves was quick to answer with a ripper from the dot, bringing it to 4-3 Blues. However with only 30 seconds to go in the period Patrik Berglund hit his back against the boards after checking Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm and had to exit the ice, hunched over. He headed to the locker room while Steve Ott got a minor for roughing, but the second ended before Nashville was able to convert.

Jan 29, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Ryan Reaves (75) follows thru on a goal scored against against the Nashville Predators during the second period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The third period was hard-fought and got even more physical, if you can believe it. The minors continued to a point where I got sick of writing them down, and it seemed like every player spent time sprawled on the ice. Jori Lehtera went back to the locker room halfway through the third after an awkward hit where his head got caught.

Elliott played his pads off in the third, capturing the awkward bounces of the puck, playing pucks off himself and battling it out. Unfortunately, Neal scored one for the Predators to tie it up 4-4 with only three left in the third, sending them to overtime.

Overtime ended with no change in score, and we headed to a shootout where Oshie and Shattenkirk won the game for the Blues in the offensive zone while Elliott beat the pants off the Predators.

The Blues played a tough game and took home the extra point for their troubles, and Oshie took first star while Reaves took player of the game.

Oshie nailed it in his interview with Panger after the game. Regarding the Predators and their play he said,

“It seems like they play a lot like us. They throw the puck to the net a lot, they got all four lines that are working hard, their D are very good at taking checks and moving the puck and their goaltending is outstanding. It’s a very similar team, it’s a battle, and one that we like to get up for.”

One we look forward to beating again, he was probably thinking.

Next: T.J. Oshie Promotes March Of Dimes Charity Through Oshie O's