St. Louis Blues Pros And Cons From Preseason Game 3 Vs. Columbus

The St. Louis Blues finally opened their year at the new Enterprise Center. While it was only a preseason game, they sent the crowd home happy with a solid win.

The St. Louis Blues came into their third preseason game having played reasonably well in their prior two contests. Despite a record of 1-1-0, there were no major issues even with very mixed rosters.

The Blues continued to have around a 50/50 split of NHL players and minor leaguers and prospects. It managed to continue working, however, as the Blues pulled off the win.

St. Louis had yet to play in the newly renovated Enterprise Center – we’ll be saying the same thing next year too as there is one more phase of renovations. They opened it quite nicely by defeating Columbus 3-0.

It was not your textbook win. In fact, there were several boring stretches through the contest, but that’s to be expected with so many young players and unfamiliar lines for both squads.

Still, the Blues are playing with good overall fundamentals and they’ll sharpen the rest as the roster gets whittled down.

Cons: The Second Period

Oddly enough, both teams had their highest shot totals in the second period. Perhaps it is because the long line change hems you into the defensive zone at times.

Pros: Pat Maroon Continues

You can’t overstate how little preseason means toward the regular season. Even so, it’s good to see Pat Maroon contributing for this team so early.

He scored his second goal of the preseason with another power play goal, the team’s second of the night. Maroon was also denied on a seemingly sure goal in the third period, after a tic-tac-toe passing play found him alone in front.

He continues to be a presence in front of goaltenders, which is surely going to continue once October 4 comes around. Maroon won’t keep up this kind of scoring pace over 82 games, but he’s showing a knack for the goal so far and that’s a good thing.

Cons: St. Louis Allowed Too Many Second Chances

You can easily chalk this one up to preseason and unfamiliar players etc., but it’s still not good to allow so many whacks at your goaltender.

Overall, Columbus was held off the stat sheet too much since they only had 20 official shots. Yet, the disappointing part was the times when the Blues just let them whack away at loose pucks in front of the goal.

You do that against good teams with 100% NHL players in their lineup and you’re not going to have a shutout. Yes, it’s preseason and yes you’re playing youth and whatnot. But, that is an effort thing that is taught at all levels.

You clear the puck away from your net as soon as possible. You don’t let the opponent stand around and have several chances. It is a nit-picky thing, but you just worry that it might become a habit.

Pros: Blais 2.0

Mentioning Sammy Blais in these is becoming a habit. Blais got his second goal of the preseason as well and it turned out to be the game winner.

He opened the scoring almost five minutes into the first period, scoring a power play goal from Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou. It was not necessarily a highlight reel goal with blazing speed or anything, but it was an important goal and keeps his name in front of the staff.

At this point, even though it’s still very early days, we might have to put his name into the mix of guys that could crack the roster. He already did it last season, so why not again? The competition for spots is fiercer this time, but he has fewer veterans with history under Mike Yeo to contend with too.

We can’t put all his eggs in a basket with two preseason goals, but he’s playing quite solid in all facets so far. His only drawback is that he’s still a little easy to knock down. Other than that, he’s going to see his fair share of NHL games this season even if it’s not right out of camp.

Pros: A Shoutout And A Win

Wins and losses do not matter, but any win at home is a good one. The Enterprise Center was not packed to capacity, but there was a decent crowd there and they got some entertainment out of the evening and that’s why we love sports to begin with.

The Blues got them on their feet early with the two first period goals and they finished it off with a sneaky little roller into an empty net from Robert Bortuzzo.

In between, they kept the clean sheet as they say and Chad Johnson got his first shutout in a Blues uniform. It won’t count, officially, but goaltenders will tell you that any shutout is a good one.

Johnson never had to be spectactular. He was playing against mostly AHL guys. Even so, he saw some in-tight chances and a few screens and stopped them all. A goose egg is always good when it’s on the other side of the scoreboard.

Overview

We didn’t learn anything monumental from this game, but it’s only the third game overall. The roster will get cut down, likely after the fourth game, and then we can make a few harsher judgements.

For now, you’re seeing the right guys on the score sheet. Of course, you’d like to get Vladimir Tarasenko a goal early on, but he picked up an assist in his first preseason game.

Blues Were Smart To Avoid Max Pacioretty Deal. dark. Next

We still have no clue what the lines will look like during the year, but that too will come after the next few games. For now, as I have said far too much, it was good to see the Blues back in action and wearing their home colors. The fans went home happy and we got to see the game streamed online. A win/win for all.

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