The St. Louis Blues were unable to capture a three-game win streak as they lost to the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. It was a 3-1 beatdown, and it was narrowly their third shutout in five games.
Now at a goal difference of 12-20, the Blues continue to lose games in the second period. This was evident again as the Rangers got on the board first in the middle frame.
There was one key winner in this game, and unfortunately three big losers. Let’s talk about it.
Winner:
Pius Suter
Pius Suter was the only Blue able to get past Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand. It was a near shutout effort, with No. 22 notching his fourth goal of the season.
The Blues were better overall, with 33 shots on net. But a 0/6 effort on the power play is what stunted them in this game. Suter scored, but it was a little too late.
Losers:
Powerplay woes return
Speaking of that power play, a 0/6 showing is not ideal. Especially after the idea of these two units starting to look a little bit better has surfaced in that Boston win, as they went 2/3.
The Rangers have a good penalty kill, but six chances are six chances. Something should have given way.
Top six
The Blues' top six were pointless in a game where they were slated to shine. The Blueshirts top-six is good, but the Blues have some significant advantages in terms of speed and shooting ability.
Particularly in the battle of second lines, where Mason McTavish should have been able to outmatch Rangers captain J.T. Miller, but did not have that kind of impact. Instead, No. 83 was a team-low -3 on the scoresheet.
This is where the game was won and lost.
Hofer, kinda
It is hard to put Hofer here as a loser because he did a great job in the net. He was just outgoalied by a really good up-and-comer in Garand.
This season has been realitively good for Hofer in net, as his initial campaign as the franchise's starter has been much better than his back-up. Jordan Binnington has had a rough start, and if he had been in net, there is no guarentee that a different result would have occured.
Hofer stopped 28 out of 30 shots, and drops to 6-4-1 on the season.
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