St. Louis Blues: Pros And Cons From Game 65 Against Detroit

The St. Louis Blues entered desperation mode against the Detroit Red Wings. They did not make it pretty or easy on the fans, but they got the job done by the end of it.

The St. Louis Blues did not play a perfect game, but maybe it was the kind of game they needed to get over this awful run of play. That is not to say they’re a playoff team now, but maybe they can build upon this.

Coming into this game, many had been saying that it just needed to happen. The win did not need to be pretty and maybe it even needed to be lucky. This contest was not necessarily lucky, but it was far from pretty. Nevertheless, the Blues got a victory and might be able to feel good about themselves again.

St. Louis had a decent start to the game. Their offense was alittle lacking in the first period, with only eight shots, but they persevered. It sounds like a small consolation, but not allowing a goal in the first period was paramount for how this game ended up.

The Blues then opened the scoring with a gritty goal in the second period. It was the first time in six games they had a lead and put the puck in the net first.

The third period got a little uncomfortable. St. Louis was on their heels a little too often for anyone’s comfort level, especially given the collapse against Nashville.

Unfortunately, things got even tighter at the very end of the game. The Blues could not hold onto the shutout and Detroit cut the St. Louis lead in half.

The Blues got it done in the final minutes, with some key guys getting physical at the right time.

Who knows if this propels the Blues onto a decent run to end the season. It was just nice to see them fight for each other and come out on top for the first time in what feels like forever.

Pros:

The Blues actually scored first.

As mentioned, it had been five games without scoring the first goal. The last time the Blues had a lead was that Nashville game and we all know how terribly that ended things.

It was not the prettiest of goals, but we’ve been saying for months that the Blues don’t need pretty goals. Their best success before the losing streak was when they were crashing the net.

They did just that to put the puck in on this one. Colton Parayko looked like the guy we got so excited about a year or two ago, driving the goal with speed and strength. Then, Scottie Upshall was right where he needed to be to cash in on a juicy rebound.

That is how the Blues must play if they are going to win going forward. You’re not going to be gritty the entire time, but this team doesn’t have enough talent to win on talent alone. They have to work and work together.

Cons:

The team still looks a little off.

A comment was made on Twitter and it can’t be totally written off – the Blues beat a team they should beat and made mistakes that would cost them against a better team. Detroit is far from the Red Wings we grew to hate. They have some talent, but they’re not a playoff team.

Pros:

The defenders were on top of their game, for the most part.

The aforementioned cons aside, the Blues’ blue liners played a pretty solid game overall.

Most of them were battling in front of the net. Many of them were in good position and trying to block shots.

On top of that, the offense finally came back from the defenders as well.

Parayko was unleashing some bombs from the blue line. Some of them missed the net, but the willingness to take his slap shot was fantastic to see.

Then Alex Pietrangelo scored what proved to be the game winning goal with a bomb from the right circle.

Pietrangelo is not known for his slap shot, but this one was on point.

That’s part of what led to so much success for the Blues early in the season. They were getting offense from the back line. They need more of that going forward.

Cons:

The Blues relied on Carter Hutton too much.

It sound strange since the Blues kept the Red Wings to the perimeter for much of the first two periods. However, they allowed too many shots in general.

36 shots against and for the longest time, it looked like the Blues would need another shutout to hold onto a win. Thankfully Pietrangelo got the insurance goal, because even after a strong performance, Hutton could not keep them all out.

The issue is that he should not have to. Regardless of who is in net, you simply cannot expect a shutout or one goal against in every single game. The offense still needs to do more.

It seems like complaining for complaining sake, but even with all the fight and grit the team showed it was almost still not enough.

Thankfully Hutton was up to the task. Detroit started putting the squeeze on the Blues in the third and he had to be sharp.

There were still a few moments that made you gasp, but it would just be nice to have a comfortable game for once instead of putting it all on the goalies.

Overall Thoughts

I’d rather my prediction not have been true for the final score, but we will all take the win.

For the first time in forever, my prediction in our pregame article ended up being correct.

The Blues got some good performances, but still have plenty of work to do. However, this was about all we could ask for.

Sure, you’d like some transformative game where it looks like everything is fantastic. Maybe this is even better.

Next: Blues Staff To Blame As Much As The Players

The Blues had to fight for this win and it did not come easy like the last time the Blues played the Red Wings.

St. Louis fought through a gritty game. Maybe that can spring them to a decent finish. Time will tell.

Home/Analysis