St. Louis Blues Clinch Playoff Berth With Win Over Vancouver

One thing is for certain following the St. Louis Blues’ victory over the Vancouver Canucks and that’s the Blues are in the playoffs for the fifth straight year.  Everything else is up in the air.

When it comes to the game itself, it was very similar to the win over the Canucks just a few days ago.  Despite the 4-0 score, there wasn’t a ton to marvel over.  It was just a solid hockey game, taking care of business against a clearly inferior opponent.

The Blues got off to a good start and never let up.  They didn’t just crush Vancouver, but they performed better in just about every aspect.  Hits, shots, goals, chances; you name it, the Blues did it better.

St. Louis got their first goal of the game with essentially the fourth line players on the ice.  It was a shorthanded goal, but came off a three-on-one attack.  A miscue by the Canucks at the blueline set Scottie Upshall on his horse and he set up a tap in goal for Kyle Brodziak.

It didn’t take long for St. Louis to get on the board again either. This time it was Robby Fabbri scoring as the recently dubbed FBS line (yes I’m taking credit even though the acronym doesn’t even mean anything) continued it’s hot streak. Paul Stastny picked up a nice assist with a nifty backhand pass that found Fabbri on the left and the rookie looked like a seasoned scorer with his finish.

The second period strangely belonged to the Blues’ defensemen. They were floating all around, yet never seemed out of position. Seemingly they could smell the blood in the water. There was one play where Robert Bortuzzo was actually up near the net and got a shot off from his position.

Joel Edmunson almost scored his first NHL goal in the second when he was set up for a one-timer by Fabbri. It came close enough that Fabbri actually celebrated the goal before sheepishly heading to the bench when he realized it did not score.

Carl Gunnarsson did score in the second period with a little under five minutes remaining in the frame. There was a bit of discussion whether Troy Brouwer got a deflection or it went off the goaltender’s shoulder, but Gunnarsson ended up with the goal.

The game was never in doubt and the Blues almost toyed with Vancouver in the third period. Little of note happened in the end until 12:15 of the third. That’s when Edmunson finally got his first goal in the big league.

You could sense it coming with all the shots and the team seeming to want to set him up at every opportune moment, but it was still a nice end to the night for a guy who normally does more of the dirty work.

In the end it was just a solid team performance capped off with stand out events. The Blues clinched a playoff berth and, perhaps temporarily, tied themselves with the Stars for first place. Edmunson got his goal. Brian Elliott also got his third consecutive shutout and his 25th overall with the Blues.

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Negatives

There really weren’t very many. It was not a perfect game by any means, but the only thing that sticks out was the five-on-three powerplay. The Blues failed to score despite having that advantage for almost a full two minutes. In addition, even though there were only three defenders there was an early pass given right to a Vancouver player.

Positives

The fourth line. Most of the credit goes to Upshall and Brodziak, but the entire line has been playing great lately. They should have scored a couple goals the last time against Vancouver and only Ryan Miller kept them out. This time they did get that shorty and could still have added one or two more to their total.

Fabbri is budding into a star. While it’s too early to proclaim him to have joined Vladimir Tarasenko as the next Blues’ superstars, he is really showing his stuff and growing in confidence. Even the plays where he doesn’t score make him look good.

The FBS line continues to gel. Not only is this a great sign for that line, but it gives a lot of hope for the playoffs. When Alexander Steen comes back, if he gels quickly with David Backes and Patrik Berglund, the team has three legit scoring lines and potentially four with the way Upshall has been playing.

Next: Fabbri is hitting his stride

Looking Forward

Despite the fact the Blues are currently tied for first and clinched a playoff spot, there are still too many scenarios to even ponder what the postseason will look like.

It still looks like a Blues/Blackhawks matchup is in the cards, but Nashville could sneak into that third spot or the Blues could finish on top and face a wild-card.

What is for certain is that the team and Jake Allen will have to be on top of their game. They play the league leading Washington Capitals next. Luckily, the Caps played tonight too so at least the teams are on even footing as far as rest.