St. Louis Blues Beat 2015: Week 7
The St. Louis Blues are 5-4-1 in their last ten games, splitting their four games 2-1-1 last week. They sit at second in the Central Division with a 13-6-2 record.
Last week consisted of two well played 3-2 wins against the Jets and Sabres; a “close but no cigar” loss to CBJ thanks to a two goal effort by Brandon Saad; and an overtime heart breaker at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. The Blues would definitely like to have that extra point but they had another week without taking a step back in the toughest division in the NHL.
A theme throughout three of the four gamed was two point efforts by Vladimir Tarasenko, only the loss to CBJ held Vlad off the score sheet. He had himself another week long highlight reel effort, as he continues to solidify himself as one of the league’s most exciting players.
Also showcased was a healthy Kevin Shattenkirk, he returned to form this week with six points in the four games. As the Blues continue to get their key players back from injury, the better the chances are of catching up to Dallas atop the Central.
The biggest story heading into Monday nights game against the Buffalo Sabres is the return of Paul Stastny. Seemingly out of nowhere he was announced to return to the lineup, and will regain his role of centering Tarasenko and Alex Steen. This is huge for the St. Louis Blues’ depth as they can now spread the scoring throughout the lines.
Next: St. Louis Blues Paul Stastny Returns Tonight
This upcoming week is a weird one league-wide for scheduling due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The Blues have three games on the docket as the NHL jam packs most of the games this week into a couple of really busy nights.
Tonight they face the struggling Buffalo Sabres again who will look to even things after being handed a loss by the Blues the previous week. Coach Ken Hitchcock and his troops will need to be aware of Evander Kane, he just returned from injury and will be expected to break out any game now.
Unfortunately for Sabres fans, the return of Paul Stastny will likely spark an offensive overflow that they simply are not equipped enough to contain. Moving David Backes back to the third line is a perfect example of how deep the Blues can look as they get healthier; Buffalo won’t be in as close of a game as they were last week.
On Wednesday the Blues visit the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that struggled early but has been getting it together. Their offense has been clicking the last couple games and if Sidney Crosby gets going full throttle, the Blues may have quite a tough obstacle in the way of two points in the standings.
This game will be full of offense on both sides, each team stacked with high end talent up front. What gives St. Louis the edge however is their defense, Pittsburgh is extremely thin on the back end. If the Blues can solve Fleury early they should be able to grab a lead, protect it, and focus on containing the three headed monster (Crosby, Malkin, Kessel).
Saturday night the Blues will be welcoming Columbus into Scottrade Center for a rematch of last week’s tough loss. Even though they are still at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Jackets have improved a whole lot since their coaching change. Last week Brandon Saad channeled his games with Chicago and burnt St. Louis with two goals to send St. Louis packing.
The boys in blue should have some steam going into this game, and a fresh memory of blood lust seeing their old rival score two on them. No matter how many shots Tortorella has the Jackets blocking, and finally has Johansen going, St. Louis should be able to handle these bottom feeders.
In light of the news involving the NHL All-Star game’s new format, I am going to go out on a limb here. This week the Blues will demonstrate the superiority of the Western Conference and go 3-0-0.