Plenty of Payne, Not Enough Game – CHI 6, STL 3
19,052 Blues fans were forced to sit through yet another embarrassing home loss this Saturday night when St. Louis hosted Chicago.
The St. Louis Blues were in the middle of a huge shakedown as head coach Andy Murray was replaced by Peoria Rivermen (AHL) head coach Davis Payne.
Anyone who thought that this game-day decision would instigate a miraculous turnaround was sorely disappointed, as the Blues’ asses were thoroughly handed to them by several ugly goons wearing Blackhawk jerseys (Patrick Sharp’s got a face like Danny Devito’s ass).
Former Dead Wing Tomas Kopecky deflected a shot from Brent Seabrook to take a 1-0 lead 3:10 into the first period. The Blues answered quickly as Eric Brewer threaded a shot through the legs of a teammate to fool Huet 2 minutes later. The Hawks scored a minute and a half later, silencing Scottrade. The quiet didn’t last long.
Perhaps the best part of the 1st period was the bone-crushing open-ice hit Weaver put on facially disfigured pushover Sharp. This led to Neanderthal-like retaliation from ex-convict Cam Barker, who was justly given an instigator minor, a fighting major, a misconduct and a game misconduct.
After all the hubbub, Andy McDonald wristed his 13th of the season past Huet to tie the game again and the end of the 1st period.
The second period proved less kind to the Blues, as they were outshot (13-5) and outscored (2-0). Brian Campbell and Kris Versteeg scored for the Hawks.
Fatrick Sharp (who looks like an elephantiasis afflictee) opened up the 3rd period scoring with two lucky goals less than 3 minutes apart, an even strength and a powerplay tally.
As if the 4-goal deficit on home ice wasn’t enough, the Blues received a slap in the face (pun intended) when Keith Tkachuk took a slap shot from Oshie directly in the face. The puck trickled in after striking Big Walt, who lost a lot of blood and a few teeth, giving the Blues a PPG at 17:52.
I might catch some static for saying this, but this game was actually entertaining (oh, apart from the 6 goals allowed and another home loss). The Blues took a “if you can’t beat ‘em on the scoreboard, bet ‘em on their faces” approach, which works well against a bunch of pansies who think they’re tough.
It was pretty obvious what the outcome of this game was going be before it happened. I mean, who honestly thought that with all our home woes that we were actually going to win against a more skilled team who has a great coach and is on a tear? Who thought that Davis Payne was going to get a victory on his debut with a team who’s got more problems than a math book?
Anyone who thinks that firing Murray equals instant success needs to get that fairy-tale bullshit out of their head. The only way the Blues are going to make a miraculous comeback is with good ol’ fashioned elbow grease and veteran leadership. They need to work with this Coach Payne and figure out a way to start WINNING. And I’ve only heard good things about winning…
Sidebar: Cam Barker and the rest of the would-be criminals on the Hawks are sneakier than Nazis in an Indiana Jones flick. Who attacks a player after a clean, badass hit? A goddamned savage, that’s who! What kind of a team is this? Guys wearing tape on their hands during a fight? Uncalled for. Bush league, Eager, you snake in the grass.