Hello Blues fans! The St. Louis Blues are in the Sunshine State to take on some more cats on the ice. While they got their revenge on the Predators, the Panthers are a different animal.
The St. Louis Blues face the Florida Panthers tonight looking to accomplish a couple thing. First and foremost, they are looking to rid themselves of the sour taste in their mouth from the last game.
The Blues got taken to school by the Winnipeg Jets in an incredibly disappointing 5-2 loss. While it could be seen as just another dip in the road, the Blues could not defeat the Jets in a single game during the season.
St. Louis only got one point out of the five games they played against Winnipeg. St. Louis can go a long way in erasing that from their minds with a solid, Blues’ style performance in tonight’s game.
On top of all that, the Blues have a chance to even up their season series with the Panthers. For the second year in a row, the best St. Louis can do is split with Florida.
The Blues, like last season, lost the first game of the year against Florida. Now, again like last season, they have a chance to even it up.
St. Louis lost 2-1 back in February. While the score was close, the game really was not. In a one goal game, you can only complain so much, but the Blues lacked a lot of the push we have come to expect from them during this season.
So, the Blues can erase that little blip and soothe the nerves of the fans who want to be doubters again. The Blues have lost two of three now and against teams they should not be having troubles with.
St. Louis can’t win every game and have proven that, but they can play well every game. In the last two losses, that has not been the case. That’s what has frustrated the fanbase so much.
A loss is discouraging, but if the team plays hard you can go to sleep at night figuring the next day will be better. When they don’t have a good performance, you wonder if the new coach magic is wearing off.
Are they reverting to form? Are the playoff hopes being dashed before we even get into the postseason?
These are all legitimate concerns in one form or another. The team is the only one that can answer that.
As prognosticators, we can sit here and say we see this or that trend and such and such is likely to continue or end. In the end, the team has to go there, put the work in and get the job done.
One thing the Blues need to do is take a look across the ice and see what might have been. The Panthers are their mirror team.
Florida had a great season last year and hoped to build on it. Things turned south during the winter months and a coaching change was made.
While the Panthers had an initial turnaround, much like St. Louis, they could not sustain it as the Blues did. Now, the Panthers are out of the playoffs and have said they will have a new coach next year instead of making Tom Rowe permanent.
All of that could have happened to St. Louis. It would have been more difficult with the Mike Yeo contract, but the players stepped up and did not allow such doubt to creep in. Now, they must re-instill that confidence and find their way back to the bright side of the equation.
Here are your St. Louis Blues Daily Links to keep your day going right.
Talking about the Blues’ bad habits over the last two losses and even in some of the wins is not just something the fans do. Players and coaches are away of it and know they have to clean things up if they want to be successful come next week. (STLToday)
The St. Louis Blues have been a different team without Kevin Shattenkirk. In most ways, they have been better. However, the powerplay unit struggled while he was here and has perhaps been worse without him and the team can’t figure out why. (Post-Dispatch)
Something that bodes well for the Blues’ future is the influx of youth with the Chicago Wolves. Not only are their AHL guys doing well, but they are stepping up as rookies to take leadership and production roles and that could mean good things in the future. (Wolves)
Next: The Next Prospects To Make The Jump
Despite a couple poor performances, the NHL saw some good in the Blues. In their latest weekly power rankings, the Blues jumped up three spots. Check out the list. (NHL)
Allan Walsh, part of the group that represents Vladimir Tarasenko, has come out and trashed the league about their Olympic decision. While blame can be shared on both sides, Walsh believes the decision will have larger implications in labor down the road. (ESPN)
Have a great day Blues fans!