St. Louis Blues: NHL Central Weekly Review (last week of May)

Well, we were all hoping the St. Louis Blues would still be playing hockey at this point. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

The St. Louis Blues went on a heck of a ride. Their fans probably went on more of a roller coaster ride than the players did. It was a fun journey, and a stressful one, but it came to an end earlier than many wanted.

The Blues came into the week with everything to play for. They had tied up the series at two games a piece after a dominating performance in Game 4.

So, the Blues had it all on the line. They were two wins away from their first Stanley Cup Final since 1970. Six potential wins between them and their first ever NHL championship. The week didn’t pan out according to plan.

The Blues came out hot on Monday night. They did allow the Sharks to score the opening goal, but scored the next two and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. The score flip flopped, with the Sharks scoring two powerplay goals in the second period and the Blues only answering once.

San Jose would score three goals in the third period, two of which were empty net goals, en route to a 6-3 win. That win meant San Jose could end the series in six and at home.

The Blues had played some of their best hockey in elimination games and with their backs against the wall. They went to the well too many times though after their failure to close out their previous opponents in fewer games.

The Blues kept things tight, but allowed a goal in the first and the second. They couldn’t muster anything close to a response offensively and the 2-0 lead seemed likely to hold up on it’s own. It didn’t, but it wouldn’t have to.

The Sharks scored two more in the third period before the Blues found an answer. Rubbing salt in the wound, Vladimir Tarasenko scored the Blues two goals as they cut the Sharks lead in half. And empty net goal put the final nail in the coffin and the Sharks won 5-2.

It was a disappointing end to a wonderful season. The Blues had come so far during a season that really felt like it could be the end to their long-standing pain.

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They had defeated their longtime nemesis, the had knocked off the top team in the Western Conference. They just couldn’t summon the will to play the way it was needed to knock off the Sharks.

There are lots of reasons it happened. The Sharks were very solid. They had a game plan that included taking out Tarasenko and getting under the skin of a lot of Blues players and it worked to perfection most games. They did just enough in all aspects of the game to get the job done.

The Blues also felt like they left something on the table. The Sharks played well enough that it’s impossible to tell if it would have made a difference, but when you don’t feel like you got the best out of your team, it’s harder to swallow.

The Blues have a bright future, but this was supposed to be the year. Now, we wait until the next season.

Blues’ Weekly Stats

Vladimir Tarasenko – 2G 0A 2P
Jori Lehtera – 0G 1A 1P
Patrik Berglund – 0G 1A 1P
Paul Stastny – 0G 2A 2P
Robby Fabbri – 1G 0A 1P
Alexander Steen – 0G 1A 1P
Troy Brouwer – 1G 0A 1P
Jaden Schwartz – 0G 1A 1P
David Backes – 0G 1A 1P
Colton Parayko – 0G 1A 1P
Alex Pietrangelo – 0G 2A 2P

Brian Elliott – 31 saves/37 shots, 3.52 goals against, .838 save percentage
Jake Allen – 33 saves/36 shots, 2.63 goals against, .917 save percentage

View from the Midwest Weekly Division Recap

Looking Forward

The Blues have a lot of decisions to make coming up. They have several key players and plenty of role players too that played a big part in the team getting as far as they did.

David Backes, Troy Brouwer, Steve Ott, Kyle Brodziak, Scottie Upshall, Jaden Schwartz, Dmitrij Jaskin, Magnus Paajarvi are all free agents. There will also have to be decisions made about trades, new players brought in via free agency and also the possibility of deciding who to protect in a potential expansion draft.

It will be an offseason of uncertainty but fun. For the first time in a long time, fans aren’t thinking the team needs to blow up and start over. Several key decisions need to be made quickly, i.e. Backes and Hitchcock, but the pieces are in place.

The young core is set. Players like Ty Rattie are waiting in the wings. The team has two solid goaltenders for at least another season. The Blues have a good window in front of them, but they cannot sit on their laurels and think the next step is a given.

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