It was the rematch for the Blues and Winnipeg Jets only a day after the first one. However, despite the game playing out much the same, the Blues’ result was not as favorable.
For the second day in a row, the St. Louis Blues took on the Winnipeg Jets. The overall contest played out much the same way it did in St. Louis. Sadly, the end result was a polar opposite to the night before.
The Blues looked fatigued for some reason. Clearly, travel and back-to-back games will take it out of you. However, it seemed beyond that.
St. Louis got dominated in the shot category for the second night in a row. On top of that, the defending and goaltending were not up to snuff either, which could not bail the team out for another night.
Cons:
The shots against have been crazy.
For the second night in a row, the Blues allowed well over 40 shots. That is simply not acceptable.
You could make the case the Blues have allowed high shot totals in the past. The difference is those nights they kept the shots out wide or from minimally dangerous areas.
The last two nights, especially this one, they were just allowing too many chances from prime scoring areas. That’s not a recipe for success.
Pros:
Colton Parayko‘s ascension helps Alex Pietrangelo ease into things.
We’ve discussed how Parayko is proving he is more than capable of being a top defenseman. The Blues know that as well as they continue to show confidence in him.
Parayko had the most minutes of any player on the Blues in their second game against the Jets. That allows Pietrangelo to not over-tax himself as he comes back from a lower-body injury.
That seems like a small thing, but Parayko is good enough to handle the minutes. Not re-injuring your captain is always a nice bonus too.
Cons:
Special teams takes a turn for the worse.
One night after the power play finally scored a couple goals, they went into hibernation again. The Blues needed their special teams to come up big on this night and they did not.
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The power play went 0-4 and the penalty kill gave up a goal to the Winnipeg power play. Keeping your opponent 1-4 is not bad, but when you are struggling to score, that’s not good enough.
The Blues either need to find ways to get their special teams clicking or they have to stay out of the box. Neither one seems plausible right now.
Pros:
Vladimir Tarasenko fired away.
It was not his best night, of course. Those are reserved for the times when he scores a goal.
However, Tarasenko did lead the team in shots. He kept firing away and that’s something you’d like to see a little bit more of.
Tarasenko just wants to win, but he’s also a little too unselfish. That should not be a bad thing, but you need your best scorer actually shooting.
The only thing wrong with his offense is just a thin line of finishing. Tarasenko had a chance on the break and would normally bury those.
Still, if he leads the team in shots more often than not, he’ll get his goals.
Cons:
The offense has just disappeared.
Perhaps the Blues used up all their offense in that Detroit game. Goals have been harder to come by since then.
St. Louis has only three goals in their last four games. They’ve been shutout twice in that timespan and only got one goal against Anaheim.
It’s not time to push the panic button yet, but things are definitely not flowing right now. You can chalk it up to line changes due to the injuries. However, that’s not a viable excuse. There is enough talent on this team to score more than .75 goals a game.
Overall Thoughts:
It’s the same old BS.
You try not to get overly frustrated with a team that was in first place for so long when some wondered if they’d make the playoffs. Still, when it is the same stuff over and over, it’s hard not to feel down.
The power play stinks. The penalty kill is either great or mediocre. Offensively, the Blues are feast or famine right now. And if the Blues don’t get Herculean efforts from the goaltenders, they are not getting results.
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The team will continue to get healthy, so hopefully that helps the scoring part. The special teams just is not likely to change, sadly.
One way or the other, the Blues had better figure something out. They’re off on the dreaded Canadian road trip, so things are not about to get any easier.