The St. Louis Blues channeled their inner Brett Hull against the Calgary Flames. While they wore 90’s throwback jerseys, they unleashed their offense.
The St. Louis Blues were coming off a satisfying win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the offense was still a bit hard to come by. That changed for at least one night as the Blues stomped the Calgary Flames 5-0.
St. Louis wore their 90’s throwback jerseys, red trim and all. They also channeled those teams and their style, playing a quick, run and gun style that powered them to five goals.
The only person that might not have liked the style was Jordan Binnington. He was a busy man for much of the game as the Blues played a little loose on defense.
However, while the game was a far different style than the Tampa game, it was just as impressive. It might be a stretch to say the Blues dominated, but they managed to get the better of the Flames in each and every period.
The only period the Blues failed to get two goals in was the first period. Interestingly enough, that was the period that was the loosest for both sides.
Both teams combined for 29 shots in that period alone. The defenses sort of reigned things in a little after that, but the Blues took advantage of their chances.
St. Louis had two goals each in the second and third. Two of the goals were cheapies that the Calgary goaltender should have saved or got caught out of the net, but even without those the Blues managed an impressive win.
Pros: Third line
As if it wasn’t enough that Oskar Sundqvist has been on a tear lately, he dragged the rest of his linemates with him. The entire third line was fantastic the entire game.
Right now, Sundqvist is just doing it so many different ways. He scores dirty goals, gritty goals, goals where he was in the right spot at the right time like his second of the night against Calgary. His first goal likely should have been saved since it nibbled off the cuff of the glove, but they all count.
Zach Sanford probably played one of, if not his best game of the season. His goal proved to be the game winner and he would chip in for three assists, giving him his first ever four-point night in the NHL.
Last, but not least, Robert Thomas really showcased what kind of center he might be in the future. We have seen the speed and stick handling ability, but his passing was approaching elite levels at time. The behind the back pass that set up Sanford’s goal was a thing to marvel at.
All told, this line combined for five shots on goal. Even more impressive, they combined for three goals and nine points.
Maybe this is not sustainable, but you’ll take the reward for the hard work they put in.
Cons: Relying on Binnington
This could be thought of as a a positive, and it is in a sense. Any time Jordan Binnington can get a shutout and play an incredibly solid game in the process, you’ve got to be impressed.
That said, the reason it falls into the negative category is more how it came about. It might seem a little tongue-in-cheek, but the Blues really did channel the defensive efforts of those early 1990’s teams.
I am not talking about the defenses with Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. I am talking about the defensive play when Curtis Joseph was regularly getting peppered with shots and goaltenders were lucky to have a goals against average around 3.00.
Every game is its own story, but it seems so odd to hold one of the league’s best offensive teams to 18 shots and then allow 40 shots. Things finally calmed down in the third period, but St. Louis allowed 33 shots through two periods. 33 shots against is high for a single game, let alone 40 minutes.
Clearly, based on the result, Binnington was more than up to the task. The worrying thing is that this team prides itself on defense and continues to be somewhat shaky defensively.
Not all the shots were grade-A chances. Nevertheless, you aren’t going to be too successful letting your goalie get peppered that much on most nights.
Cons: Top line snake bitten
As great as the third line played, the Blues top line probably played just as well. For whatever reason, they just did not have the same success.
Tyler Bozak, Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz combined for seven shots on goal. In the end, they had a bunch of zeros next to their totals.
Schenn ended up with one assist on the team’s power play goal. Other than that, the top line went O-for.
Making matters worse, Bozak could have easily had a hat-trick in the first period. He had chance after chance and they just would not go for him. One time, Bozak had another partial break and tried dishing to Schenn for a different look, but he got robbed too.
The chemistry of this trio is good, so you don’t want to separate them. It just stinks to have such a good effort and come up empty handed.
Pros: Sweaters
Ok, I’ll be honest with this. When the Blues first announced they were bringing back this jersey, I was not a big fan.
I lived through this era and while we all remember those teams fondly, the jerseys were a big point of contention even then. I have come to find out that many shared my opinion to where we kind of liked them at the time and then grew to dislike them for being so outlandish and now it’s a weird middle ground.
All that said, it brought back all the old/good feelings seeing them skate out there with these unis on. They mentioned on the radio, and I agreed, that it was hard not to think of old players when you saw certain numbers skating around.
The radio crew mentioned 10 for Jim Campbell, but for me 10 in those jerseys was Esa Tikkanen. Brendan Shannahan and Jay Bouwmeester wore it differently and played differently, but both looked solid in 19.
I will never be a fan of a goalie wearing 50, but Binnington was fantastic in those uniforms. The idea, hatched weeks ago, to wear the CuJo inspired mask and the blue pads really hit the mark.
David Perron really looked like the Hull of old on his power play goal. The only thing that would have made it more Hull-esque is if Perron went down to one knee on the shot.
It is probably good they will only wear them three more times. They likely would get old after awhile. However, for a little treat, it was great to see them. Heck, we even got to see a fight in the old sweaters and you rarely get those these days.
Overview
The last two games showcase how wonderful hockey can be. The contrast was incredible, but getting wins both ways showcases the Blues fluidity.
Against Tampa, they played one of the best defensive games we have seen from the Blues in 2019-20. The offense was not really there, but they still squeezed three goals out.
Against Calgary, the defense was almost nonexistent, but they got the win and a shutout. The offense came back to life in a big way and the Blues earned all five goals even if a couple of them should have been stopped.
The Blues just outworked the Flames on the offensive end. That is saying something too since the Flames outshot the Blues.
You do not want to get into shootout type track meets very often. However, the Blues continue to show they can win in a myriad of ways.
If you need to clamp down, they can. When needed, the offense still has the firepower, even with all the injuries, to put a lot of goals on the board.
As long as the team can continue getting points and goals by committee, they will survive this string of injuries.