St. Louis Blues: Five Keys To Beating San Jose
By Todd Panula
It’s been fifteen years since the St. Louis Blues were in the conference finals. Some of the players on the current roster were barely out of diapers at the time. This Blues team has done a good job of shrugging off that past and focusing on the task at hand. They have to continue that now to take the next step.
The St. Louis Blues have to keep focusing on the task at hand and not get too caught up in the extra things if they intend to keep winning.
There are always tons of things that can be focused on or said are essential to win any shift, any period, any game or an entire series. Here, we’re going to focus on the five big ones that will be key for the Blues to win the Western Conference Finals and take down the San Jose Sharks.
Get to Martin Jones early and often
Martin Jones is a fine goaltender. There was a reason the Sharks gave up on Antti Niemi and went after Jones and that was the talent they saw in Jones (Niemi wanting lots of money didn’t help). He won 37 games out of 65 starts in the regular season, kept his goals against low at 2.27 and had a .918 save percentage.
Clearly he was meant to be a starter in this league. People were saying as much during his time backing up Jonathan Quick with the LA Kings. Regardless of all that he’s young.
He’s young and inexperienced. This is only Jones’ third year in the league and his first full year as a starter.
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He’s only got two games of playoff experience prior to this current playoff run where he’s gone 8-4 heading into the Blues series. That’s where the Blues need to take advantage.
Listen to any analyst on television or even the ones on the radio and the theme has been similar. Jones is the question mark for the Sharks.
That’s not to say he isn’t talented or he’s been questionable the way that Dallas’ goaltending had been suspect. It’s to say he hasn’t had to show anything. He hasn’t had to steal a game for his team in the playoffs yet.
The Sharks have been playing good defense and allowing Jones to play positional goaltending, meaning he hasn’t had to look around a ton of screens or make that spectacular diving save. He’s stayed in his position and made the saves he’s supposed to.
If the Blues can get to him early they can have success. They don’t even need to score a goal right away, but put Jones in positions where he has to think about too much. Get him uncomfortable. Get in his face. Let him know how the playoffs are really supposed to be.
Jones hasn’t faced a ton of shots either. In just two fewer games played, Jones has seen 109 fewer shots than Brian Elliott.
The Blues need to get shots on goal. No more of this shooting wide by trying to place the puck. Go for rebounds, look for shots that double as passes by going for the far pad and pepper the net.
Stay out of the penalty box
This one seems like good advice no matter what, but the Blues have taken their share of foolish penalties this postseason. They cannot do that in this series or the Sharks will make them pay.
San Jose finished with the third best powerplay in the NHL during the regular season. They also had the most powerplay goals in the entire league with 62.
They’ve also got the second best powerplay percantage in the playoffs and are by far the best powerplay out of the teams left. They’ve scored on 30.9% of their man-advantage chances this postseason.
One could argue the Blues already beat a similar team. The Blackhawks have a better percentage in the playoffs and the Blues disposed of them. It’s not wise to take those chances though.
During the season, the Sharks allowed over 200 goals. Keep out of the box and you’re better off.
Not only do you have the chance to score, but you’re keeping them away from powerplay goals which energize their team.
Play smart, play hard but keep out of penalty trouble and you increase your chances to win exponentially.
The veterans need to keep up the pace
Normally, you look to your veteran players for guidance in these times. Those guys who have been there before and know what it takes in these battles.
When it comes to knowledge of a Western Conference Final, the Blues’ vets are as inexperienced as a player like Robby Fabbri. Troy Brouwer and Steve Ott are the only players that have been this far before and only Brouwer has won.
Nevertheless, the Blues still need their core guys to keep up their current play. Call him what you will – third line center, grinder, role player etc – David Backes has found new life with pressure taken off his shoulders.
He’s still the captain, but non longer burdened with the responsibility of coming up with the big goal he has been able to focus on his entire game. The byproduct of that has been six goals and 12 points, all career highs.
Alexander Steen and Patrik Berglund are also playing at extremely high levels as well. Steen has developed into the prototypical two-way forward, going up against some of the oppositions most talented forwards and taking them out of their game.
While it isn’t just Steen’s doing, the trio of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Jamie Benn only had a combined two goals against the Blues. That was because the Blues veterans bought into the system, put in the work and got things done both offensively and defensively.
They’ll need more of the same this round. The Sharks are potent offensively and have more size. Joe Thornton might be older, but he’s still a threat. Joe Pavelski and Brett Burns have to be watched closely as well.
That’s going to fall to guys like Backes, Steen and even Berglund. Clearly others will play their part. The Blues will rely on their top defensive pairing to take control as well.
It’s the veterans that have to keep their play up though. Playing like veterans know they must allows guys like Fabbri and Tarasenko to do their thing regardless of experience. They have to lead, regardless of whether they’ve been this far or not.
Get Vladimir Tarasenko rolling
This one isn’t as clear cut as it seems. It seems a little harsh to say a player with 13 points needs to get rolling, but we’re not talking about just point production here.
The Blues, and Vladimir Tarasenko himself, need to find a way to get him comfortable. They need to get him more in the rhythm of the game.
He’s got seven goals and 13 points, but he’s a -1 in the plus/minus category. He’s got double the hits this playoff year than his last two combined, more takeaways and blocked shots, but also has more giveaways than any other playoff year.
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He hasn’t looked quite the same player either. We see flashes and glimpses, but there have been plenty of times when he’s looked a little slower than normal. There’s been too many instances when Tarasenko has been a non factor.
He doesn’t always have to score. He can act as a decoy and then pounce when the defense realizes he’s being used as such.
Those decisions are for brighter hockey minds than myself, but they have to find a way to get Tarasenko comfortable.
The Sharks are a heavy team. They don’t necessarily blow you up, but they’re big and they pin you.
Maybe Tarasenko will flourish more knowing that. He played well against Chicago, despite the stats, knowing he was going to be going against a physical team. While the Stars are bigger, the amount of hits they threw around was a bit of a surprise and he seemed to shrink a bit in that series.
The Blues have had a few days off to rest and get healthy. They’ve had a chance to heal a bit.
The Blues need the best out of Tarasenko they can get. Whether that means scoring, assisting or just being out there to give the Sharks’ defense something to think about, he’s got to step back up.
Play Blues hockey for 60 minutes each time
Again, this one is easier said than done and seems overly simplistic, but it’s true.
We’ve seen it through two rounds of the playoffs, especially against the Stars. When the Blues play their game and are on top of their game for an entire 60 minutes, they dominate. When they aren’t, bad things happen (usually a loss).
The problem is a combination of factors. Ken Hitchcock’s style is incredibly draining mentally on most and physically on some. You have to stay so focused on every play of every shift that it takes a lot out of you.
On the same token, the Blues have a history of thinking things will be easier than they actually are or that a team will roll over because St. Louis showed up. You can’t have that at this stage of the game.
It’s human nature to lose focus at times. It’s near impossible to play up to potential and beyond in every game of a potential seven game series.
That’s why the Stanley Cup is considered the hardest championship to win though. You have to overcome your own nature. You have to play up to your potential every time out because if you don’t, someone on the other time likely will.
The Blues have the better goaltender. They have a deeper roster of forwards. Burns might be the best individual player, but the Blues have the better defensive corps. It’s up to them to go out there and prove it.
They haven’t had the best history against the Sharks over the last few years. They went 1-2 against San Jose this season and the two losses weren’t too close.
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Still, the Blues have overcome the Blackhawks already and the history with them is well documented. They’ve overcome several playoff demons already, so now San Jose is merely just another opponent.
The Blues have to play their game and play a full game of it. Do that and they’ll have a heck of a chance to advance.