St. Louis Blues Morning Links: Blues Tease Then Tame Panthers

Good morning Blues fans! The team did not always look at their best last night, but they got the job done against the Florida Panthers and that’s the main thing at this point.

The St. Louis Blues took their time, but eventually they took care of the Florida Panthers. Though it did not last as long, the Blues struggled to finish off the team from Miami.

The last time the two teams played, the Blues and Panthers were tied until the dying seconds. The Panthers then got the goal with only moments left in regulation and would end up victorious by the score of 2-1.

The Blues did not let things last that long this time around, but they could not rid themselves of Florida either. The Panthers played more like flies, constantly buzzing around in an annoying way, instead of cats. Though, as a cat owner, they can be just as annoying at times.

St. Louis opened up the scoring from a rather unusual source. It was Ryan Reaves doing the honors to get the game started and things finished with a 1-0 lead after one.

Then the teams traded goals from there on out. The Panthers kept tying up the game until around halfway through the third period.

Finally, St. Louis got three goals by the end to wrap things up. Patrik Berglund got a nice tip-in, Alex Pietrangelo finished off a beautiful powerplay goal and Jaden Schwartz finished things off with an empty net goal.

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Defensively, the Blues looked a little bit shaky. Allowing three goals on 32 shots against is not terrible, but it was not the best defending night overall.

The Blues allowed way too many quality chances against a team that will not even make the playoffs. On top of that, Jake Allen overextended on a play that was scored on. That was something he has not done until the Winnipeg game and now done in two straight.

Allen is going to be instrumental in winning a playoff series or two. The Blues are almost surely going to face the Minnesota Wild and the Snake will need to be on top of his game to steal one or two.

So, seeing him return, even if briefly, to the form that saw so many poor goals go in is slightly troubling. However, there has not been enough evidence to think that return will last more than a goal or two. However, a goal or two in the playoffs can make the difference.

Still, Allen made some big saves that kept the Blues in the game until the offense could finish things off. Sometimes that’s enough and on this night it was.

The only troubling thing remaining for the Blues is their inability to simply crush the spirit of their opponent. This is not college sports where that happens more often, but St. Louis seems to have too many times where they give their opponents life.

However, once the playoffs begin, it does not matter how you achieve it as long as the W is gained. Nobody remembers how any of the champions did it, merely that they did it.

So, perhaps nitpicking is just for us fans. We are good at that anyway.

Here are your St. Louis Blues Morning Links to get your day started off right.

The Blues got some interesting goals last night. They included a deflection, a crossbar rattler, an empty netter and more. To see them all, simply check out the box score. (NHL)

In a bit of a shocking move, the Blues decided to bring back the enigmatic Vladimir Sobotka. Perhaps even more puzzlingly, they gave him an extension that will chew up a decent chunk of their offseason money. (STLToday)

In the short term, Sobotka’s return may prove useful due to the injuries the Blues have racked up. However, the extension seems less than satisfactory due to the low amounts of money the Blues already had to spend this summer and the promising prospects ready to make the jump. (Bleedin’ Blue)

The NHL seems to have had a rash of both injuries and suspensions due to players being a bit overzealous. Brad Marchand is the latest to have to sit out some games due to ill thought out actions, though he is at least man enough to realize it instead of hiding behind words. (ESPN)

Women’s hockey can be immensely entertaining, but the finalists are almost always the same. As proof that the rest of the world has a ways to go to catch up, the United States obliterated their opponent in a semifinal game in the world championships. (NHL)

Have a great day Blues fans!

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