St. Louis Blues: Time For Steve Ott To Take A Seat

When it came to playing the Chicago Blackhawks, Steve Ott was just the man for the job. Now that the St. Louis Blues have advanced and are playing the San Jose, his job might be done.

The St. Louis Blues proved in Games 1 and 2 that they need any advantage they can get and even then need a little bit of fortune on their side. They no longer have any kind of advantage with Steve Ott in the lineup.

Ott is a great player in terms of providing an edge, being an agitator and getting under the skin of opposing players. Nobody expects him to score goals much, especially in the playoffs, but he’s been a valuable piece for the Blues all season long and had a great story by returning from double hamstring surgery.

Ot is also the type of player that isn’t valuable if he’s going to be a detraction for this team. He has been just that in the series with San Jose.

Ott has taken two penalties in this series. While the Sharks have failed to score on either of them, the penalties have put the Blues in a bad position.

Maybe they haven’t given up goals with Ott in the box, but they clearly aren’t playing at full strength with him playing so recklessly. When they aren’t at full strength, they aren’t getting as much ice time for Vladimir Tarasenko or Robby Fabbri.

Additionally, his penalties have been somewhat boneheaded and foolish. They aren’t just hustle plays that the official has seen something wrong with. Game 1 was a slashing penalty, that could have been avoided, and Game 2 was an interference call when he ran into Joe Pavelski from behind, that could have been avoided.

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When someone plays in such a manner, any coach, Ken Hitchcock in particular, is less likely to play them. After the penalty in Game 2, Ott only saw 5:07 of ice time the entire game. That’s down from Game 1, when he was on the ice for 7:20 and took a penalty.

Clearly Hitchcock isn’t feeling comfortable with Ott playing over the line and keeps him off the ice. That keeps the entire fourth line off the ice, which increases the time spent by other players.

That’s not necessarily good. People can whine about Tarasenko’s ice time all they want, but the Blues have been at their best when they can roll out four lines and keep everyone as fresh as possible. That’s allowed them to play each shift as hard as possible.

Taking that away is detrimental to the team. So, it’s time for Ott to take a seat in the press box.

Who to play depends on what the coach thinks the team needs. Ryan Reaves is bigger, stronger and rearing to go after getting a brief taste of playoff action against Dallas.

The only problem with him is he presents the same problems as Ott. If he keeps his composure, he is a valuable asset. When he doesn’t, he can take penalties, which is the entire problem right now.

So, perhaps Dmitrij Jaskin would be the better option. He has good size, can be tough to take off the puck and brings some skill to the fourth line. He brings an added scoring touch, which is an additional reason to keep rolling four lines.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter which you choose. Both present positives and negatives.

The bottom line is there needs to be a change and that’s where it can be made. You can’t take Troy Brouwer off the ice because as bad as his penalties were, he has been just as good offensively.

You’re not going to take Jaden Schwartz off the ice because he’s been ineffective, because he could break out at any moment.

Ott coming out of the lineup makes sense both from a performance aspect and also simply as a sacrificial lamb.

The Blues need a jump start. They need energy. Ott has provided that in the past, but for now it needs to be someone else’s turn.

Next: Game 2 Has People Scared

Personally, I vote for Jaskin simply because this series has been heavy but doesn’t necessarily need more hitting. The added punch Jaskin could provide offensively gives him the nod for me but I’m not going to complain if Reaves is in either.

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