St. Louis Blues: Pros And Cons From Game 74 Against Vancouver

The St. Louis Blues managed to get the job done against the Vancouver Canucks. It was far from a perfect game, but as long as you keep winning, that’s what matters.

The St. Louis Blues keep chugging right along. While they are not getting as much help as you would like around the standings, the Blues are doing everything they can to make the post season.

The Blues got off to as good a start as you could hope for. Vladimir Tarasenko came close to scoring just 20 seconds into the game. Patrik Berglund did score 40 seconds into the game.

The Blues did not have a good period after that, getting outshot 11-1 the rest of the first. However, Jake Allen made some solid saves and kept the Blues in front.

St. Louis found their game again in the second period. Despite another wishy-washy penalty called, the Blues managed to score again, with Berglund netting the team’s fifth shorthanded goal.

The Blues did allow Vancouver to get back into the game. Just moments after killing off a Canucks power play, they scored to cut the lead in half.

St. Louis wasted no time crushing any hope in the third period. Tarasenko scored 14 seconds into the period to push the lead back to two. Dmitirj Jaskin would score with about two and a half minutes left to seal the deal.

The win pushes the Blues to 87 points on the year. They are still on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs go, but they’re creeping up.

Pros:

Patrik Berglund.

Berglund has had a rough year, overall. He missed most of the beginning of the year and then it’s been slow going after that.

He came into the game with 10 goals and 17 points in 48 games played. It was not what he envisioned after setting a career high in goals last season.

Berglund came to play in this one though. He opened the scoring with a brilliant backhand shot after taking a nice saucer pass in the zone.

Not to stop there, Berglund got a second goal in the second period. After taking a great pass from Kyle Brodziak, Berglund calmly tucked it into the blocker side to give the Blues a two goal lead.

Those were the only shots Berglund took, but he definitely made them count.

Cons:

The lack of offense in the first.

Perhaps the Blues thought Vancouver would roll over after they scored so early in the game. The Blues took the game for granted just a little bit in the first period.

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Perhaps they were trying too hard or whatever cliche you want to say. The Blues were not without chances in the first period, but they kept missing the net.

Out of 12 shots only four hit the net to count as official shots in the opening period. That’s just not going to cut it most nights or against good teams.

Pros:

Vladimir Tarasenko kept his streak going.

Tarasenko entered this game with 10 points in 10 games against Vancouver. You can make it 11 points in 11 games now.

The goal itself won’t go down in Tarasenko’s highlight reel. He was fortunate the goaltender lifted the pad just at the right time for it to slip in.

It also gets Tarasenko back on the score sheet. He had not registered a point since the Los Angeles game and only had two points in his previous five.

Now, his goal came at an important time in this game. He managed to squeeze the life out of Vancouver early in the third, not allowing any momentum they built to sustain.

Cons:

The physical play went away.

One game after throwing the most hits they’ve had in three years, the Blues only had 12 hits thrown. They were not getting overmatched, but the lack of official hits was slightly disappointing.

Overall Thoughts:

Keeping hope alive.

Another night, another win for the Blues. They’ve tied their season long winning streak, hitting four wins in a row now. They will definitely be tested to make it five, playing against a red-hot Columbus team on Saturday.

However, for this game, the Blues just did enough. They were good, but not great. That was enough against one of the lower teams in the league.

Next: Blues Still Hold Own Destiny

Allen was not tested much, only facing 20 shots, but like the rest of the team, he got the job done. It is likely he will play again in Columbus, so it was good to keep his action limited.

The Blues are now within one point of Colorado and two behind Los Angeles and Anaheim.