St. Louis Blues: NHL Central Weekly Review (3rd Round/3rd Week of May)

It was feast or famine for the St. Louis Blues this past week. Representing the NHL Central Division as the sole remaining team, they fell flat with a poor weekly record but found themselves still in a prime position overall for the series.

The St. Louis Blues did not have a good week overall as they continued their third round series with the San Jose Sharks. The Blues went 1-2 for the week and were shutout twice in a row.

They had three or more goals scored on them in both losses before exploding for six of their own in their lone win of the week. It truly was feast or famine both offensively and defensively.

The good thing for the Blues, overall, is that for all the whining and complaining that fans and media alike did, the Blues are tied in the series as it shifts back to St. Louis this week. It is now a best two of three with two games in St. Louis.

That’s a double edged sword. The Blues played all year to get home-ice advantage, but have not made good use of it. The Blues are currently sub-.500 at home in the 2016 playoffs. A stat which has to change if they are to win this series or more, since the Blues have home ice the rest of the way.

Looking back now, the week started off incredibly poor. After getting some good bounces their way to win Game 1 last week, the Blues fell flat in just about every aspect.

They fell by the score of 4-0 on Tuesday and it wasn’t even that close. The Blues had next to no chances, passed about as poorly as you possibly can, turned the puck over constantly, lost board battles, had a rare sub-par goaltending effort and lacked any discernible energy.

Game 3 was not much better. The Blues had more jump on Thursday from the opening faceoff and actually came close to scoring early in the contest. However, similarly to the previous game, once the Sharks scored, there was not enough push coming from the boys in blue (in this case white, since they were on the road).

The disappointing thing about Game 3 was, as poorly as the Blues played in the grand scheme of things, every single goal given up was in transition, due to a turnover. If the Blues had just taken care of the puck, they could, at least, have given themselves an opportunity for a lucky break.

Instead, the Sharks were allowed odd-man rushes and unchecked marches down the ice. It was not the kind of hockey Blues fans had become accustomed to, even if it was a slightly better effort than the previous game.

That put the Blues in the position of having to win Game 4 to avoid the prospect of absolutely having to win three games in a row. Changes were made to the lineup. Jake Allen was inserted in goal. It all paid off.

The Blues came out and looked like the Blues. They skated, they forechecked, they played good defense while still allowing the occasional rush the other way, they passed very well and created quality scoring opportunities. They were rewarded for their efforts as well.

The Blues scored early and often. They ended up beating the Sharks 6-3 and the Sharks should not have even had that many. One goal was possible goaltender interference and the other was an own goal by Joel Edmundson.

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Regardless of the end score, the Blues played well enough for long enough to more than deserve the result.

In true Blues fashion, they got their fans all lathered up with hate and vitriol, only to bust out of the doldrums. They tied up the series after four games and if you had told most fans that would be the result after four, most would have gladly taken it.

Blues’ Weekly Stats

Kyle Brodziak – 2G 0A 2P
Jori Lehtera – 1G 0A 1P
Magnus Paajarvi – 0G 1A 1P
Paul Stastny – 0G 2A 2P
Robby Fabbri – 0G 1A 1P
Alexander Steen – 0G 1A 1P
Troy Brouwer – 2G 0A 2P
Jaden Schwartz – 0G 1A 1P
Dmitrij Jaskin – 0G 1A 1P
Alex Pietrangelo – 1G 0A 1P

Brian Elliott – 31 saves/37 shots, 3.52 goals against, .838 save percentage
Jake Allen – 33 saves/36 shots, 2.63 goals against, .917 save percentage

View from the Midwest Weekly Division Recap

Looking Forward

One way or the other, the Blues will finish this series this week.

Game 5 will be Monday night with a puck drop at 7 p.m. CST. Game 6, which is guaranteed to happen, will be in San Jose on Wednesday, with a puck drop of 8 p.m. CST. A potential Game 7 would be back in St. Louis on Friday with the puck dropping at 7 p.m. CST again (subject to any changes from NBC or the league of course).

The Blues need to take Game 5. It is entirely possible for them to win the series even if they don’t, but given the ups and downs of their playoffs, they need the cushion.

Next: Playing Allen Was the Right Choice

They also need to win Game 5 to prove they can win a game at home without their backs being against the wall.

It’s going to be a fun week that will be hard on our nerves and our stomachs. Buckle up, take some Pepto and enjoy the ride.