St. Louis Blues Morning Links: There Be Whales Here
By Todd Panula
Good morning Blues fans! What a glorious morning to be a fan. Never did we think six wins in a row was possible, but wonders never cease.
The St. Louis Blues continue to pull tricks out of their bag to keep us on our toes. Injury problems be damned because the Chicago Wolves are here in the Lou.
That’s right, the Chicago players recently recalled from the AHL have been big reasons why the Blues have stayed on the winning track. These youthful players (some not so youthful) have kept the energy up with the team and not allowed any of the mainstays to let that potential excuse of injury give them a reason to play less than 100%.
The Blues have followed their lead and extended their win streak to a season long six games, with a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks put up a valiant effort and took advantage of mistakes, but they never really stood a chance. The Blues were always bound to win in their voyage home.
So, it’s good news all around. The Blues keep winning, they keep finding ways to win, they get solid performances from unsung players and they have regrouped the home ice advantage.
Now all that is left is for this trend to continue and see if they can steal home ice away from the Chicago Blackhawks. That is less than likely to happen, but we never even thought we’d see the team win this many consecutive games the way they were playing.
St. Louis is just finding ways right now. Some nights it is the goalie standing on their head as Jake Allen and Carter Hutton did with several shutouts in a row.
Other nights, the defense picks up the slack, which is another thing absent before Mike Yeo took over. Then nights like last night, the offense comes to play. And you get guys out of nowhere like the much maligned Magnus Paajarvi, who now has two goals and three points since being recalled.
While I am a strong Hitch supporter, it is nice to see the younger guys or minor league guys since many are mid 20’s or more, get a shot. Additionally, they aren’t all being placed with veterans to help them.
We have an entire line of Wolves right now. That’s good for continuity and good for confidence. It shows that Yeo is willing to trust these guys without the crutch of playing with someone that might not suit their style.
Related Story: Thank Goodness The Blues Are An NHL Team
The one thing Hitchcock fell back on too much was his distrust of young players. You can’t put a scorer on the fourth line and expect them to play a fourth line way. You can’t expect the fourth line to help that player score either.
The Blues are going to lose at some point, there is no doubt of that. They just are not going to win out the regular season.
Still, it’s fun to watch again. It’s fun to write again. There were only so many ways you can artistically talk about their faults without resorting to “they suck.”
It is still sad that a coaching change can make this big a difference. However, if it was that large a cloud over the locker room, it’s good that it happened when it did. This team can make significant progress toward the playoffs if they continue. Let’s just hope the honeymoon lasts a good, long while.
Oh, and isn’t it always a good thing to beat the Sedin sisters? I think so.
Here are your St. Louis Blues Morning Links to get your day going right.
Lou Kourac had taken a back seat for a few national Blues articles, but now he’s back. Check out his recap of the game including all the goal highlights. Don’t we live in a wondrous age? (NHL)
One of the biggest changes in this team is apparently their willingness to listen to the coach’s message. Thank goodness they did last night because apparently the team is pretty gassed. While that is understandable, I just wouldn’t want to hear the tired excuse from Bernie Federko about how the first game home after a trip is so hard…again. (STLToday)
Those that want to keep their fingers crossed extra tight can hope for a nice Saturday. The rest of us can hope, bu t not expect to much. Regardless of which category you are in, the Blues might be at 100% sooner than later. (Post-Dispatch)
You can never tell which way the winds in the NHL are blowing. Just when we get used to one idea, someone says hold it. That is the case with the Kevin Shattenkirk deal as Jonas Siegel says Blues fans may want to pump the brakes on sending away a top four defenseman right now. (Edmonton Journal)
As an aspiring broadcaster, I root for guys like Dave Strader. I know how comforting being able to call a game can be on normal days, let alone when you have been battling illness. Now the Stars announcer will return this weekend. (NHL)
The St. Louis Blues have been on both sides of good trades and bad trades. Unfortunately for us, we only got recognized for the bad side on ESPN’s top list of best and worst trades since 2012. (ESPN)
Have a great day Blues fans!