St. Louis Blues: The Blues At The Canucks Report Card

The St. Louis Blues 9-3-3 went into Vancouver to face the red hot Canucks 9-3-2. The Blues have been scoring goals and doing enough to get points albeit 3 of the last four wins have come in overtime a win is a win.

The St. Louis Blues have been skating along a thin line of poor starts and falling behind only to rally to tie games and ultimately win in overtime lately. It hasn’t always been pretty, but it has managed to set the Blues atop the Central Division and accumulate all important points.

In a game that had me nervous, the Blues came out like they have in previous games. Tentative, watchful, and uninspired the Blues skated that thin line and had it not been for Jordan Binnington would’ve found this game out of reach after the first ten minutes of the game.

The Blues penalty did their job and killed off opportunities in another game the Blues were taking some bad penalties. Some of the penalties were weak in my opinion, but there were others that seem to be an issue for the team so far. Those ill-advised and potentially momentum-killing offensive zone penalties.

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What is there to say? This Blues team just finds ways to win. We got the lead after the best line of the night, the third line, featuring Sammy Blais, Tyler Bozak, and Alex Steen got the Blues on the board after a beautiful feed from Blais to Bozak.

The goal would stand as the only tally for nearly the entire game up until the 16:35 mark of the third period when Quinn Hughes would score from the blue line through traffic.

Jordan Binnington, not happy about the goal, never saw it as it went passed Josh Leivo and then Elias Pettersson flashed across the crease blocking Binner’s sight. Aside from that, the Blues did get the win in overtime on a 3 on 0 breakaway.

The breakaway occurred after two Canucks collided with each other deep in the Blues zone along the boards. Brayden Schenn looked so shocked he almost didn’t know what to do. With Alex Pietrangelo and Jaden Schwartz headed on the break with him, Schwartz was able to end the game with his 2nd goal of the season. Let’s get to the grades!

Offense- C

The offense did enough to win the game but again was slow to start. Aside from the already mentioned third line of Blais, Steen, and Bozak the offense didn’t seem to hem in the Canucks like we know they are capable of and they once again were outshot by the opposition.

My fellow writer Todd mentioned what Darren Pang said about the Blues prefer to take quality chances rather than just shoot the puck on less opportune times. I scratched my head when I heard this from Panger on tv as the Blues always harp in post-game interviews about getting pucks to the net.

Can’t get pucks to the net if you don’t shoot the puck. The Blues were outshot, outhit, lost the faceoff battle, and lost the takeaways stat line. For a team that says they thrive on puck possession, they didn’t do much to ensure they had it.

The third line to me kept the score for the offense at a C and not lower. Games like this leave me with major concern for the Blues this season. I hope that they can start to get to that workmanlike style of play that has driven us to the Stanley Cup last year. There is only one singular reason we won this game and that will come in a later grade.

Defense- C

The defense was steady in this one. Holding one of the hottest lines in the NHL without a point is no easy task. Especially in a game that starts so late for us midwesterners.

The team did what they needed to do to hold the top line off the board. Albeit the credit goes more to the next grade, you still can’t ignore that the defense held Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson off the scoreboard. Had it not been for that they would’ve had a lower mark.

They gave up some quality chances and Elias Pettersson seemed to determined to get on the board somehow. I kept thinking man this kid won’t be denied tonight. It’s a matter of time if the Blues don’t pull their boots up by the bootstraps and get to work. The dam is going to break soon enough. Well, the next grade’s iron will was stronger and is the only reason we won this game.

Goaltending- A+++

Jordan Binnington showed everyone why he is a legitimate number one goaltender last night. He seemed to be on a personal mission to show to Elias Pettersson that he was lucky Jordan wasn’t in the NHL a little sooner last season as that Calder Trophy should’ve been Winnington’s.

I kept wincing at the Blues forwards and defense with the opportunities they were giving to the Canucks and Elias Pettersson. As I mentioned above, it seemed a matter of when and not if Pettersson erupted in this game.

Binnington had other plans and he was not going to lose this game no matter what the guys in front of him were doing or not doing. Aside from the screened goal, Binnington was amazing. Putting on a goaltending clinic that we have seen him do time and time again.

This was Binner’s win. Period. The offense was non-existent aside from the third line. Had it not been for a fortunate overtime collision we would’ve seen another shootout. Vancouver won the first game against the Blues in a shootout.

I can’t find any other reason that the Blues won this game. If the team can muster even a modicum of the will and determination that bInner displayed in this game on a consistent basis we will march straight to another cup final.

Special Teams- B

The penalty kill shut down a highly potent power play on 4 opportunities. Something not many of Vancouver’s previous opponents can say. So the kill earned the A while the power play although not bad in the game failed to convert on 2 of their own opportunities.

The power play has been improving and if the 5 on 5 play of the Blues doesn’t start to get to the level it was last season in regards to puck control and pressure the power play will need to be a force for the Blues going forward.

Coaching- C

Once again the Blues lackadaisically came out of the gate for another game. It’s as if the team doesn’t know how to play without the feeling their backs are against the wall. It’s like after playing a half a season and playoffs with constant desperation and pressure the Blues adrenal glands have stopped reacting to “normal circumstances”.

I’m not quite sure how to word it. It’s like the typical adrenaline that comes from pregame nerves are nonexistent. In the movie Rocky V, Balboa describes a guy named Frankie Fear to his newest protege Tommy Gunn. Says that Fear can be your best friend or your worst enemy. He describes the feeling he has before a fight. That friend Fear. What that friend does for or against him in the midst of the fight.

Well, it’s like the Blues have zero fear before a game. Nothing that is lighting the fire inside. Being fearless is great, but not when it becomes numbness or mundane. It’s as if the Blues need to be daring and dangerous in order to light the fire.

The coaches need to start finding what needs to be done to ignite the fire before the game starts now. I think as long as the team squeaks by without playing their best hockey the worse our chances become for a repeat in the playoffs.

It’s excellent you can win games even when you aren’t at your best, but when you aren’t at your best nearly every game maybe we all need to reassess what your best really is? It certainly hasn’t been your best from last season. Find that fire!

The Blues 10-3-3 square off again tonight at 7:30 pm (CST) against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s Edmonton Oilers 10-4-2. It’s another game that team defense will be paramount. Hopefully, the Blues can find a way to bring Frankie Fear to the game with them and get off on a good start and finish strong in regulation with another win!

Drop the puck!