The St. Louis Blues needed a win against the Nashville Predators to keep their losing ways from becoming the start of a streak. What we got was a playoff style game that kept you on the edge.
Going into their weeknight affair against the Nashville Predators, the St. Louis Blues had plenty of reasons to give their best and look for the win. Firstly, you had a chance to have a big point swing against the team you are looking up at. Secondly, you keep the losses from becoming more of a regular thing than not.
Both teams came out and tried to assert themselves, but the Blues got the early jump. St. Louis had the first five shots on goal before Nashville got going. Unfortunately, the Blues were unable to get a goal in those early minutes.
St. Louis had good, long periods of possession in the first period but could muster very little from it. They forced a few good saves, but it was an extremely tight way to play. Knowing we may very well see this team in the first round of the playoffs, it gave you that same nervy feeling.
Things didn’t ease up much in the second. The Blues opened the period extremely well again. Within the first four minutes, the Blues had tons of sustained pressure. It almost looked as though they had a power play going on, even though the play was at five-on-five. Even so, they could not muster a goal, though neither team had.
The tightness continued for most of the third period. You had a feeling the first goal was going to be the difference and that is how it panned out.
The Blues snuck one in just after a penalty had ended, but it was a well deserved, well-worked goal. The Blues grinded it out until the end and held on for a great win.
Pros: Jay Bouwmeester
Jay Bouwmeester had been a whipping boy for much of last season and it got worse during the start of the 2018-19. Much of it was undeserved in previous times, but he lived up to that reputation earlier this season.
However, Bouwmeester turned things around quite quickly even though fans were slow to change their reaction. Bouwmeester has been one of the team’s most reliable defenders for much of this turnaround and subsequent win streak.
He came up pretty big in this game. Despite the fact Bouwmeester is not a physical player, he was taking the body a lot in this game. He was not credited with a hit in this game, but he was solid on the boards and did not back down from anyone.
One of his biggest plays came in crunch time. Bouwmeester broke up a big break by the Predators in the last two minutes of the second period. His positioning was sound and his stick work was great, knocking the puck away from a sure scoring chance.
Bouwmeester has taken over as the silent player that Carl Gunnarsson used to be. Nevertheless, he was great. His offense is nowhere near where it used to be, but he’s a defensive defensemen at this point and that’s exactly what the Blues needed from him.
Cons: Some Ill-Timed Turnovers
The Blues had a very good game in this divisional rivalry. Even so, they were not even close to perfect.
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While the Blues defended very well, their own carelessness came close to costing them. The Predators played a good game, but almost all of Nashville’s best chances came off turnovers.
The Blues were good with their passes most of the game, but it was feast or famine. Some of the Blues passes were not well thought and almost led to goals.
There were a couple giveaways in the Blues zone that allowed the Predators some quick shots. There were also the bad passes in the neutral zone or offensive zone too that led to odd-man rushes the other way.
The funny thing is it is hard to call the Blues out on this too much. They only allowed 19 shots against, so the defense had the clamps on. But, when the opponent gets their best chances off careless passes or ill-timed/placed turnovers, you have to look at that and clean it up.
Pros: Team Togetherness
One of, if not the biggest, reasons the Blues turned it around is they have started to play together. Earlier in the season, you would be hard-pressed to find a team that looked like they could not wait to be away from the next guy more than the Blues.
The fans and media could sense it. There were rumors that guys that had just arrived wanted to get the heck out of town. Things could not be more different now. We saw that with a huge spotlight on it in this game.
Everyone was standing up for one another. There were playoff-like scrums after every other whistle and there was not one push or facewash that went unanswered.
The team was a team, especially regarding the semi-dirty play by P.K. Subban. Subban was constantly grabbing people, tripping them and being a general nuisance, but the Blues would not stand for it. They always came in to help whomever had been wronged, but they were smart about it too. St. Louis never took the extra penalty in those situations, allowing the Predators to get irritated by their calmness.
Pat Maroon showed why he could be great for the Blues too. He was a pest in front and mixed it up when needed.
Maroon also broke up a Nashville attack with just over three minutes left in the third, going the full length of the ice to do so. Maroon was gassed and almost knocked his own goalie over in the process, but he kept the puck away from its target and showed what all these players will have to do come playoff time.
Sacrifice is a word too often thrown around at random. We saw lots of it in this game and none of it for nothing. Every play that the Blues busted their butts for was a big reason they won this game. Whether that be pulling an opponent off a teammate’s back or hustling the entire length of the ice, it all mattered.
Pros: Justice
In terms of what was called, things were fairly even. It was the non-calls that made people angry.
Nashville seemed to be getting away with everything, while the calls against the Blues were minor at best. The penalty against Colton Parayko was right by the letter of the law, but how a player is supposed to control his stick when an opponent deflects it into the air is hard to understand.
Add onto that Subban getting away with almost everything and it got a little old. All their players kept doing things that could have been penalized, but were not.
In the end, the Blues got their reward and Nashville was punished. It might not show on the stat sheet that way, but it was in just about every other sense.
The Blues don’t get credit for a power play goal, but they made Nashville pay for using up so much energy on the Ryan Johansen penalty. Johensen took a stupid penalty by taking a swipe at Alex Pietrangelo after everything had settled down. The Blues held the zone, keeping tired legs on the ice. While the penalty had elapsed and it took a needle thin pass to break them down, Tyler Bozak got the game winner to get some justice.
Adding a little salt to their wound, the Blues scored again. Subban denied a clear empty net goal chance with his interference and was not called for the automatic goal. Still, the Blues would score an empty net goal to seal off the win.
Overview
This was playoff hockey, even though it was not. This game was a prime example of what we love about hockey and has been lost a little over the years with all the focus on offense.
It was a well played, defensive game and the final was technically 1-0, even though two goals went in. Despite that, we were on the edge of our seats the entire time because just about every play felt like it could decide things.
Just about every play on the wall either led to a hit or someone getting rubbed or shoved. The hit totals were not outrageous, but guys were banging left and right.
The scrums were something fantastic too. This was what rivalries are built on and made of.
Of course, it helps that the Blues won. We might sing a different tune if things had gone differently. Nevertheless, the game was fun.
So many fans have Nashville right up there on their hate list. Subban does not hit the levels for me that Jamie Benn does, but I get where many come from. He does so much after the play or after the whistle that you just want someone to hit him.
The Blues didn’t though, at least not in any illegal ways. They kept their heads and won the smart way, which was something they could not do the last time these two teams met in the playoffs.
What is impressive about this game and this streak is that they’ve done it without some of their better players. Through illness or injury, the Blues have not been at full strength.
If they get their other players back at the right time, this team could make some waves. They certainly are at this point of the year.