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

The St. Louis Blues 10-3-3 on a five-game winning streak roll into Edmonton to try and extend their streak to 6 games against an Oilers team just one point behind them in the Western Conference standings 10-4-2.

The St. Louis Blues heading into the second game of their second set of back to backs in a week and second of four total in the month of November will have a similar task at hand as they had in Vancouver.

Like Vancouver, Edmonton has its own powerhouse duo. After the Blues found a way to win in overtime in Vancouver and hold Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser off the scoreboard could they do the same with Edmonton’s duo of Connon McDavid and Leon Draisaitl?

The difference between Vancouver and Edmonton once you get past their powerhouse duos is drastic. Edmonton lacks team depth like Vancouver. With the Oilers head coach Dave Tippet tinkering with lines trying to find some secondary scoring.

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That being said, the duo of McDavid and Draisaitl is incredible. The two can take over a game like no one else in the league. Their speed and puck control are secondary to very few if anyone/

The Blues defense will have some challenges in this one trying to slow down McDavid and keep him and Draisaitl from flying all over the place and creating space for themselves and the rest of the Oilers.

Though the task is daunting, the Blues have done a great job with similar pairs like Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, and in the Stanley Cup Finals, they were able to shut down the likes of Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak at times.

With the Blues on the second game of back to backs and Jordan Binnington doing a stellar job in the first game, the Blues went with Jake Allen in goal for his one. The game, like so many others, started off with the Blues basically feeling out the opponent again.

The team took an early penalty and gave the number three power play in the league an opportunity to jump on the Blues early. It was a soft goal allowed by Allen and with the way, the Blues defense was backing out of the neutral zone and off the Blues line it looked like it was going to be a long rough night for the note.

Luckily the Blues were awarded their own powerplay not too long after the Oilers converted on theirs with a Leon Draisaitl goal from McDavid. Jaden Schwartz was able to tip an Alex Pietrangelo shot from the point and tie the game.

The Blues as a whole seemed to wake up from then on and get their legs under them. It was a closer game than the end score would suggest as the Blues potted two rare empty netters. One of the empty netters was a signature of how things have gone for the Blues thus far.

Tyler Bozak lobbed the puck out of the Blues end killing off a 6 on 4 power play for the Oilers. The puck landed 20 feet from the net about 10-15 ft wide and with the puck flipping end over end it magically bounced 10-15 feet towards the net and slid in.

Like Bozak’s shot, the Blues are getting the bounces right now. Jake Allen after allowing a soft goal to open the scoring really did a fantastic job keeping the Oilers from gaining any sort of momentum or lead in this game. Let’s get to the grades!

Offense- A

The offense was generating chances once they found their legs. After Robert Thomas passed up on an opportunity to shoot the puck on a 2 on 1 break with Jaden Schwartz he seemed to get the message from the coaching staff to start shooting.

He did and like his linemate, Schwartz was rewarded with his third goal of the season. That proved to be the game-winning goal. The third line of Bozak, Sammy Blais and Alex Steen seem to have found some chemistry until Steen left the 2nd period with an injury. No word on the injury yet, but he needed help off the ice and wasn’t putting any pressure on the ankle.

Defense- B+

The defense again did enough to hold the Oilers off the board enough to win. They have been playing a bend but don’t break style of game and it’s been working. For now.

The defense again in this one deserves less of the credit for holding Edmonton to only 2 goals as much as the next grade does. Colton Parayko and Jay Bouwmeester were terrific and Alex Pietrangelo kept his point accumulation on a contract year going.

Justin Faulk has been a disappointment after starting the season with promise. I hope the guy turns it around as the Blues will need him to start getting points if the Blues hope to continue their defense of the Championship.

In an offense by committee, Justin Faulk is a major part of that committee and needs to start to contribute on the offensive side. For now, the Blues are getting it done, at times miraculously and definitely unconventionally.

Goaltending- A-

What a game by Jake Allen. In my eyes, Allen won this game and did it in the same kind of fashion as Jordan Binnington the night before. He made some great saves in this one and aside from the soft goal in the first he really played well and showed some excellent battle and emotion back there.

The team seemed to be getting energy and life from the play of Allen. It was good to see. I was getting pumped by Allen’s play and he deserves all the credit for a great game and should give the Blues a little more confidence going forward in their backup.

I predicted an Allen shutout for this month and he’s ramping up his play to do so. Stay tuned.

Special Teams- A

The penalty surrendered a goal on Edmonton’s first attempt. Albeit on a softy allowed by Allen, but after that Allen and the kill shut it down the other two attempts. Edmonton boasts the 3rd best power play in the league so they will likely score. The best defense and way to kill them off is to not put them on the power play in the first place.

The power play went 2 for 3. 2 for 3!! I mentioned in the Vancouver report card that the power play is going to be integral in the success of this team. It’s the second reason we won this game besides the play of Allen.

The power play looks great! They are moving the puck and moving themselves. Generating space and lanes through the opposition and more importantly converting. This is extremely necessary for this club since they won’t have Vladimir Tarasenko for the season.

Coaching- A

The team came out a little slow again, but on another back to back after a late one on the body clock in Vancouver, it was to be expected. Craig Berube and Mike Van Ryn have been doing a great job with the defense and giving them some freedom to jump into plays and generate offense again like last season.

Berube and Steve Ott have been finding ways to get the scoring by committee playbook to pay dividends. They have been going to the well and getting contributions from across the board. It appears they will need to go to the well even deeper if Steen’s injury proves to be serious and cause him to lose some playing time.

Overall the Blues are getting it done and have done so for a 6th straight win. They sit atop the Western Conference and seem to be immune to anything negative. We will see what the prognosis is for Steen hopefully today.

Regardless the news, the Blues will continue to push and pull their way through. With the goaltending they have received the last few games they will continue to find points and wins. Bounces will stop going their way and losses will come, but the will of this team won’t fade. That’s been proven. The team heads to Calgary on Saturday the 9th at 9 pm (CST). The Flames are 9-7-2 and looking for some consistency in their game still. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Drop the puck!