The St. Louis Blues keep finding ways to win. They are not completely without fault, but it is getting harder and harder to find something wrong with how they are playing.
The St. Louis Blues are being handed excuse after excuse to give up their now 10-game win streak. They have been served up on a silver platter.
Instead of indulging themselves, they politely turn aside the snake plate and continue on their path toward greatness. This is a team that has suddenly become very dangerous when they were anything but just weeks ago.
As they have in so many games during this streak, the Blues struck first. They also struck often, nabbing all four of their goals in the first two periods.
The Blues got fabulous goaltending as well, taking the defense off the hook for the rare mental gaffe. Each time you think this team is likely to hit a wall, they just find a way through.
The funny thing about this streak is how much has changed now. We have gone from wondering if the team should tank for the top draft pick to some people having conversations about climbing to the top divisional spot.
Time will tell if that is even possible, but there is nothing impossible for this team at the moment.
Pros: Vladimir Tarasenko
Apparently, Vladimir Tarasenko is determined to get to 40 goals with the pace he has been on. Ok, in reality, he likely does not care about goals as long as the team is winning, but he’s on a fantastic pace.
He now has points in 12 games in a row. Tarasenko also has goals in three straight and five of his last six.
Not only is he scoring, but he is scoring important goals. He got the Blues off to a great start, notching the opener.
It was a typical Tarasenko goal, scoring from the left circle on his quick snap shot. Additionally, he got the goal on the power play.
The Blues power play has been sputtering, so getting a goal there was big for the team.
As mentioned, Tarasenko likely does not truly care if he reaches 40 or not. However, he seems to have finally realized the team is better off when he scores.
Not long ago, it looked like Tarasenko had no shot of making it to 30 goals. Now he has a great chance at scoring 40 since he only needs 14 more in the remaining 24 games.
With two assists in the game, Vlady got his 50th and 51st point of the season. He now has 50 or more points in five-straight seasons.
Now, Tarasenko also has his 400th career point getting an assist on the team’s second goal. It might not seem like a bunch, but it’s a big milestone considering he still has plenty of career left.
Cons: The Two-Man Power Play
Forewarning, this one has more to do with the overall situation than this game alone. It became almost impossible not to include once I heard the problem.
So, the Blues got a two-man power play in the second period, already up by four goals. At that point, the Blues do not need a goal, other than getting their power play more success.
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The Blues did create a couple chances, though nothing special. It was nothing like a two-man power play should look like.
The issue becomes this franchise’s ineptitude on a two-man power play in general. According to the Blues’ research statistician for the radio crew, St. Louis has not scored a five-on-three power play goal since December of 2016.
That seems hard to believe, but it is true. This team, regardless of their players, has not scored that kind of goal in over two calendar years, covering parts of three seasons.
You can argue that teams do not practice this scenario regularly, so you are not used to only facing a three-man triangle. However, you would think the Blues could luck into a goal during that time.
However, just as they had for all that time, the Blues failed to convert. They had two separate two-man power plays and failed to score.
Making matters worse, Alex Pietrangelo actually broke two sticks on the same power play. Eventually one will go in, but that has to be a ridiculously epic stat.
Pros: Defensive Scoring
Another one of the statistical gems the radio crew came up with was about the team’s defensive scoring. The Blues have now won 20 game in the 2018-19 season when their defensemen have scored.
That might not sound too impressive to some or perhaps just coincidental to others. However, there were only a couple other teams that could say the same.
What is more impressive is the fact that the Blues are getting that kind of production from the blue liners. Nothing against any of them, but most of the team seemed either offensively challenged or past their prime. We just did not expect the defenders to score very much.
Suddenly, the Blues defenders are jumping into the play and looking like forwards. That was very true for Vince Dunn.
Funny enough, the assist to Dunn’s goal came from another defenseman in Pietrangelo. Pietrangelo intercepted a neutral zone pass and then sprang a two-on-one with Jaden Schwartz. Dunn flashed into the play and then snapped one home from the slot.
It was the kind of goal you would see from one of your top-six forwards. Instead, Dunn picked up his eighth goal of the year by joining the play without fear.
Cons: Lackluster Third Period
Here is your daily picky category. A 4-0 win should be, and is in reality, enough. But, as fans, we want our teams to pour it on, even though we would complain about sportsmanship if the situation was reversed.
Even so, the bottom line is the third period was just kind of uneventful. You would like some of the bottom-six to score something and keep their momentum going.
Unfortunately, the Blues just kind of sat on the lead in the third period, which is exactly what you do not want. St. Louis only managed five shots in the final period of play.
On the flip side, they did far too much defending. They allowed 17 shots on Jordan Binnington in the third by itself.
Fortunately for the Blues, Binnington was still red hot. He was not tested often earlier in the game, but he had to make some big saves nevertheless.
Binnington was not tested severely in the third, but he had to be on his toes since the pucks were coming far more often. He was up to the task, making a save on a breakaway with about seven minutes left.
The Blues also took a few too many penalties in the third period as well. The Blues allowed Minnesota an avenue back into it with three penalties against, but killed them all.
In the overall sense, you would like the Blues to keep more engaged. They did enough to get the W and did not play poorly at all. Still, just because you have a hot goaltender does not mean you should rely on him just for the sake of it.
It is human nature to take your foot off the gas, knowing you have the game in hand and having spent a lot of energy winning so many. You cannot get into bad habits in these big wins though.
Overview.
The Blues just keep on keepin’ on as they say. They’re not dominating for a full 60 minutes, but they do not need to.
St. Louis got their usual dose of everything against the Minnesota Wild. Goaltending, offense and defending were all there in force.
The Blues now have shutouts in three straight games. They have won 10 games in a row and their best player has points in 12 in a row.
The streaks are coming up everywhere. The only one we need to end is that ridiculous five-on-three power play drought.
St. Louis still needs to clean up a few things. They were not penalized statistically, but they were a little too careless with the puck early in the game.
However, when they were on their game, they were on. Everyone was getting the job done and they are starting to look like a team playing playoff hockey.
Of course, you do not want them to peak too soon, but you cannot worry about that right now. Take each game as its own and keep on racking up the wins.