St. Louis Blues Pros And Cons From Game 35 Vs. Buffalo

The St. Louis Blues came into their game against Buffalo knowing they needed a big win after the Christmas break. The problem was they were going against one of the Eastern Conference’s hottest teams.

The St. Louis Blues are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. Also, you sometimes get those nasty ones that nobody knows why they put in the box, but that’s neither here nor there.

Coming out of the Christmas break, the team knew they needed a huge momentum boost. What better way to achieve that than taking down one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference in the Buffalo Sabres?

The problem is these are the Blues. They tend to let little things affect them in big ways. That is why nobody was very comfortable even after the Blues led 3-0.

However, for as well as this game was played by both teams the way it unfolded was quite odd. The Blues got some good luck on two of their first three goals with funny bounces and bad angles. Then Buffalo got a power play goal on a penalty that was not, gifting a team some momentum that did not need any.

For once, the Blues managed to keep hold of the game by the scruff of the neck. They had every opportunity to let momentum sap away after the goal allowed, but St. Louis managed to keep things going and even add an insurance goal late in the third.

Cons: Neutral Zone Turnovers

The St. Louis Blues managed to calm things down as the game went on, but the turnovers were a huge problem throughout. The first period was probably the worst case.

The problem of turnovers is nothing new to the Blues. It is the placement on the ice and the timing that seems to make things so much worse.

Several of the turnovers in the first period came within a few yards of the blue line, regardless of whether on the offensive or defensive side. Unless you hand it over right in the slot, that is about the worst areas to give the puck away.

The issue with giving it away there is your teammates are heading in the wrong direction. You are either trying to exit your zone or gain momentum into the offensive zone. Nobody is expecting a turnover, so that leads to breaks the other way.

To their credit, the Blues did manage to limit the odd-man rushes against, but it led to far too much zone pressure for the Sabres. When you are facing a team that has been hot for most of the year, you simply cannot hand them opportunities.

Pros: Some Rare Puck Luck

Things have been turning around, ever so slightly, for the Blues when it comes to the luck department. Their first goal of the night is an example of that.

Let us not take anything away from the Blues. Their luck was the result of hard work. The Blues made the most of a turnover and kept hammering away.

What was lucky about the play is that everyone, including the goaltender, thought the puck was near the left post. Instead, it was under Carter Hutton‘s elbow and Hutton ended up accidentally knocking it in. Robert Thomas got credit for the goal, mostly by being the last person to touch it. But it was also a credit to the pressure being put on by that entire line.

The luck kept coming for that line. The Blues third goal was scored by Pat Maroon on a puck that slipped away from Thomas. Maroon was just in the right place at the side of the net and was able to bank it off Hutton.

Again, the bounces were fortunate, but they were the result of putting in the work. Both goals were attributable to Thomas and Maroon not giving up on either play. They either jammed at it repeatedly or drove the net and got to those dirty areas. Maybe the goals were lucky, but they were still earned.

Cons: Officiating…Again

Look, as fans, we have a different view of the game. Of course it is going to be skewed and we will see everything through rose colored glasses. That is to say we see everything called against the Blues as wrong and everything not called as a wrong against humanity.

However, this season has seen some doozies. The Blues got screwed by two bad calls against Joel Edmundson and the second time was the charm for the Sabres.

Pros: Jay Bouwmeester

Look, we all know how fashionable it is to beat up on big Jay Bouwmeester these days. However, let’s give credit where it is due – he played a heck of a game in this one.

We have been seeing much more good than bad from Bouwmeester lately, but there is still a lot of making up to do for how bad he was at the start. He took a step in the right direction in this game.

Of course, scoring always helps, but it was not just that. Bouwmeester was making strong decisions defensively.

He looked like his old self again for a brief time. He was strong on the puck, making quick decisions on most zone exits, looking confident on the puck and also keeping good position on the defensive side.

Then, there was the goal as the cherry on top. Similar to the goals that sandwiched his, it all got started with the great offensive zone work by the forward line. Bouwmeester was the beneficiary.

Still, there was nothing lucky about this goal. If you want to take any credit away you could say it was fortunate that Bouwmeester was as open as he was, but it still takes a good finish to put that puck home.

Bouwmeester was quick to shoot too. The man known for his over-passing simply took the puck on the backhand, switched to the forehand and snapped it into the upper 90. He beat one of the better glovehands in the league, making it even more impressive.

Ultimately, Bouwmeester still is what he is. As good as he has looked, he should probably not be a top line defender any more and is getting the minutes because the coaches trust him based on his track record. If he just plays like he did in this game, regardless of the goal, he would be more than fine.

Overview

Again we see how good the Blues can be when they are on. It just makes it that much harder to watch when they are not. If we could have games like this, there would be a belief this team could make a push to a playoff spot. That’s another matter though.

The good thing is the Blues did not let the Sabres back into this game. We have seen in the past where you get a big lead and it evaporates because something like a bad call does not go your way. Instead, the Blues battened down the hatches.

The Blues, as mentioned, were a little fortunate to get some of their goals, but they worked hard to get into position to get that luck. They got great performances too.

Bouwmeester looked more like the player the Blues traded for years ago than the shell we saw earlier in the year. Thomas, Maroon and Tyler Bozak are holding more talented players out of the lineup with their steady and sometimes stellar play.

Ryan O’Reilly has to feel great scoring against his former team too. Things have not gone according to his plan with Buffalo leading the pack and the Blues near the bottom, but it’s a little sweet revenge to score in a win against your old team.

Jake Allen was on point too. He was steady in net, making some nervy stops in the first period and then gaining confidence with each save. There was not much he could do on the goal against and Allen’s pad stop on the backdoor play in the first period was a game changer.

While they did not get credit on the score sheet, the line of Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz seems to be coming together too. Given rumors swirling of Schenn and Tarasenko not meshing, that can be nothing but a positive sign.

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Sadly, it’s all just positives for this game. Until we see this happen game after game, we have no choice but to assume we will see a letdown in the next game.

Hopefully the Blues prove us wrong and manage to find their stride. We have seen it in flashes. Maybe a steady performance for 40 minutes (the first period was meh) will get something started.

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