St. Louis Blues Get Some Luck And A Win As Well In Game 1

The St. Louis Blues were lucky in Game 1. There, it’s said. It’s done with. They also got a win and that’s what matters.

For the first time in what feels like forever, the St. Louis Blues got almost all the bounces their way in Game 1 against the San Jose Sharks. They also got a win and it wasn’t purely by luck either.

The St. Louis Blues came out and played a very solid first period. They outshot the Sharks by an 11-8 margin and a case could be made the Blues should have had two goals in the period.

The puck did hit the back of the net twice, but unfortunately only one counted. The first goal initially hit Patrik Berglund in front of the goal and as he glided backward, he bumped Sharks goaltender Martin Jones. The puck appeared to go in off Marc Vlasic, but goaltender interference was still the call and the Blues got no goal.

It was still an important play, because anytime you can put a puck behind the goaltender, you can get into their head and that was one of the keys for the Blues to win this game and perhaps the series. It wouldn’t be too long after that the Blues would actually score as well.

The Blues were awarded a powerplay late in the period and waited until late in the man-advantage to get it in. Kevin Shattenkirk took the shot from the point and whether he meant it or not, it went off David Backes‘ stick and past Jones for a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last long. 34 seconds later, the puck got by Brian Elliott for the only time it would. While initially given to Joe Pavelski, it was later awarded to Tomas Hertl, which means it took a double deflection.

The Blues got through one period with a tie. While it could have been better, it could have been worse since the Blues took two penalties as well, so a draw after one wasn’t a bad result.

Then the second period came. The Blues, purposefully or not, went into a bit of a shell. They were outshot 16-5 and it was actually worse than that from a visual standpoint.

Elliott was called upon time after time and had the answer each time. Given how the Blues were playing, it would have been more than enough to get out of the second period still knotted up, but the Blues got help from a seemingly unlikely source.

Jori Lehtera, for all his talents and positives, has repeatedly shown a reluctance to shoot. He broke the pattern in the second period.

The Blues got a rush up the ice and Lehtera brought it in on the left win. Instead of looking for a pass, he wound up, took a slap shot and scored to the far side.

To be fair, it was a shot that Jones should have saved and probably would save most times. However, the Blues usually don’t get those kinds of goals, so it was good to see. It also proved the old saying that if you put pucks on net, good things will happen.

The third period was very even. Part of the reason for that according to Ken Hitchcock was the Blues had finally acclimated themselves to the style of play the Sharks were using. “It took us two periods just to even get close to the emotional level on the compete side,” said Hichcock during his postgame press conference. “We’ll be a lot better in Game 2, being ready for this.”

The period went scoreless, the Blues relied on Elliott heavily again and got some fortunate bounces.

Some pucks hit the posts and crossbars, but those are the breaks. They’re the breaks that Blues fans usually look to the sky about and ponder why they don’t happen to their team. They happened this game and the team took full advantage of it.

That’s all anyone can ask, really. Would people like to see a better game out of Vladimir Tarasenko or better passing from the defensive corps or not going into some awful defensive shell in second periods? Sure.

As long as the W gets put on the board though, fans should be happy enough. Nobody flat out wins every game. Sometimes you need a break here or there.

There has been a game similar to this in every series for the Blues so far. Some they’ve won and some not. Game 1, they won. Now, it’s time to focus on Tuesday, clean up the mistakes and put some real pressure on the fish.

More from Bleedin' Blue

• St. Louis Blues Prospects Shine And Fizzle In Prospects Showcase
• St. Louis Blues Giving Nick Ritchie A Look Is No Lose Situation
• St. Louis Blues Torey Krug Already Injured Before 2023-24 Season
• St. Louis Blues Need Kasperi Kapanen To Be On Best Behavior
• Former St. Louis Blues Forward Going Into Hall Of Fame

Negatives

The Blues disappeared for too long of a time. In the second period in particular, with the exception of the Fabbri, Stastny and Brouwer line, the Blues seemed to be trying to just get through the game instead of taking the game to San Jose. They weren’t playing bad by any means, but trying to defend or not allow a goal instead of going forward isn’t a good plan. They weren’t made to pay for it in this game, but they need a more consistent energy level in future games.

The penalties. There isn’t a game that goes by most nights where no penalties are called. Saying that, it’s obviously unlikely that the Blues will stay out of the box for an entire game. Even so, the penalties they took were still foolish. Offensive zone penalties are particularly foolish. Fortunately, the St. Louis PK was on point the entire game and kept the Sharks off the board.

Losing Joe Pavelski. While he didn’t get credit for the goal, Pavelski found his way into spaces too often for anyone supporting the Note to be comfortable. There’s no need to advocate someone shadowing Pavelski the way the Sharks had someone chasing Tarasenko, but you can’t lose him either. He got into space on the goal and the save that Elliott made on the tweeted status above, Pavelski wormed away from the defense as well. Follow the captain.

Positives

Brian Elliott was on top of his game. He made glove saves, skate saves, went old school with double pad stacks, routine saves and sprawling ones too. The Blues shouldn’t need him to stand on his head for every win, but knowing he’s capable of doing so is very comfort.

The Blues got a consistent effort level. It wasn’t sky high, but there wasn’t a huge dip either. The second period was disappointing for everyone, but the Blues didn’t really play that badly. They just didn’t seem very focused on offense. They did a good job of keeping the Sharks out of high percentage areas for the most part as well.

The FBS line. They didn’t pick up a point, but they played hard the entire game. Fabbri had a couple breaks where he might like to have shot instead of passing it up or placed the shot differently because it got blocked. Nevertheless, that line was probably the Blues’ best for the entirety of the contest.

The Blues won. In the end, as fans, we can complain about this or that because that’s what we do. We explore every minute detail in ways that would make the athletes’ heads spin. Regardless of all that, all that matters is the win, not always how you got it. The Blues can play better and they will, but if you can play a so-so game and still get a W, anyone will take it.

Next: Stastny's Two Way Game Sacrifices Points But Helps Get Wins

Looking Forward The Blues and Sharks will face each other for Game 2 on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. CST.

The Blues are going to need a better effort if they hope to hold home ice advantage because they were fortunate to get the win. The Sharks are going to play harder in Game 2 and so the Blues must match it.

We’ve said it and countless others have too, but if the Blues play their game for a full 60 minutes they’re going to win more often than not. It’s just trying to figure out whether they’re going to or not that’s been the iffy subject so far.