St. Louis Blues Pros And Cons From Game 33 Vs. Vegas

The St. Louis Blues were looking to end a three-game losing streak with some home cooking. The Vegas Golden Knights were hoping to start a winning streak, coming in victorious in their last one.

The St. Louis Blues came home with their engines sputtering. The Blues lost three in a row in regulation for the first time all season and there was a sense they had lost some of their spark.

The team’s offensive struggles seemed to have taken over and their defensive issues were continuing. Even so, the Blues were hoping a little home cooking against the Vegas Golden Knights would set things right.

Vegas was not all that well themselves. They had lost two of their last three, with the lone win a 5-1 win over Chicago.

Things did not get off to a great start. The Golden Knights jumped out offensively and dominated the shot totals in the early going.

St. Louis would actually strike first as the fourth line connected on some great passes for a 1-0 lead. That lasted less than a minute before Vegas would even things up.

The first period did not get much better as Vegas took the lead at 12:28 after some iffy Blues defending. The Blues looked disjointed as they went to the break.

Craig Berube must have said or done something right because the Blues found themselves in the second. They scored three unanswered, claimed a 4-2 lead and were playing Blues hockey.

While the third period was nothing to write home about, the Blues managed to make it hold up. They got more timely saves and stood tall in their own zone.

It would have been nice to get a little more offense (only four shots in the third) or chip in with an empty net goal. Still, a win is a win and the Blues played excellently in the second period on route to a 4-2 victory.

Cons: Allowing Vegas too much early

The Blues might have scored the first goal of the game, but the Blues were not the dominant team to open up the first period. You might not say the Blues got off to a slow start, but it was not the best start.

They forced Jordan Binnington into action early. The Golden Knights were outshooting the Blues 9-3 by the time the first goal went in.

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Just prior to the Blues scoring, Binnington had to make a great save on a partial break. That stop led to the breakout that eventually ended in the Blues scoring, but it certainly was not team play that was keeping the Blues afloat right then.

Unfortunately, the lead did not last very long. Vegas knotted the game up at 1-1.

The Blues had been giving up the off side repeatedly and the Knights finally connected on it. Binnington probably should have held onto it first time, but all goalies give up rebounds and Vegas jumped on this one.

It was just deflating to come so quick after the Blues had struck.

Pros: Sundqvist

I had not heard this going into the game, but apparently there were some in Blues Nation suggesting Oskar Sundqvist was coming back too soon. As long as there was not a worry of reinjury, the Blues likely knew what they were doing.

What they did not or could not know was how good Sundqvist was going to be in his first game back. Sundqvist ended the game with a goal and two points and could have had more.

Sunny looked like he missed no time at all the way he was moving his feet. He flew down the wing to win the puck prior to the first goal and then fired a pinpoint pass right to Jacob de la Rose, who hit Mackenzie MacEachern for the score.

After that, it was time for Sundqvist to shine in the second period. It was his spark that really got the crowd into the game and the team followed after that.

Sundqvist’s goal was something special, especially having been gone for half a dozen games. Effort is one thing, but to still have the hand-eye coordination to deflect Alex Pietrangelo‘s shot was top notch.

Sundqvist was just everywhere in the second period. He killed penalties and was going all out, showcased by a diving play to break up a pass that almost led to a shorthanded break.

Speaking of breaks, Sundqvist was part of a couple of those. Sundqvist shot wide on one two-on-one and was denied by a blocker save on another.

His goal was his sixth in six games, dating back to before his injury. You could not have drawn it up much better for his first game back – plenty of chances, an assist, a goal and a win to boot.

Cons: Blues letting Vegas press repeat

One of the things discussed earlier was the Blues giving up the off side or weak side, if you will. They improved as the game went on, but they kept giving Vegas the same things over and over.

The weak side availability was one of those things. Allowing the Golden Knights too much zone time was another.

Prior to the Golden Knights taking a 2-1 lead, they had been pressuring in the offensive zone for quite some time. You could sense that the Blues were likely to crack eventually. They did

After holding the zone for a long enough time that the Blues could haave had two or three shifts, Vegas tapped home another rebound. Like the previous game, the defense just got caught out of sorts.

Vince Dunn left his spot to challenge a puck carrier at the top of the circle, which pulled him away from the net. Colton Parayko left his spot to challenge the initial shooter.

All of that left poor Robert Thomas trying to do something about the two guys in front of the net. The goal, itself, was fortunate since it deflected off a skate and went right to the goal scorer, but the fact there were two guys in front is still worrying. It was not the only time this happened, but the Blues got lucky the other times.

Pros: Second period

While the Blues were not terrible in the first period, they were certainly great in the second. As John Kelly said, it was probably there best period of hockey in at least a couple weeks.

It was fun to watch and quality stuff. The Blues were holding the offensive zone, clearing the defensive zone quickly, getting timely saves and connecting on the big plays.

As mentioned, the Blues could actually have had more goals. Marc-Andre Fleury mad several big saves and the Blues shot wide on some others.

Regardless of that, the Blues finally started looking like the Blues. They had jump in the legs and energy in their purpose.

Everything was crisp and connecting. The fact the offense sprang to life was a big bonus.

The entire shift for the team’s top line was one of their best in several games prior to Jaden Schwartz burying what would be the game winner.

Robert Thomas showed that he is learning as he put the puck on net for his goal. There was not much of an angle and Thomas would likely have passed it somewhere in most situations, but he put it on net and it snuck in.

Overview

This was just the game the Blues needed to get things going back in the right direction. Clearly not everything was perfect, but they got the job done.

There were lots of good performances. Though he has not scored yet, Jordan Kyrou had a good game. He has injected some life into the team’s top line with his speed and newfound tenacity.

The entire fourth line was clicking all night. Anything the team needed, whether it was physicality, scoring or just a hard-nosed shift, that trio provided.

As we have seen all season, there were times the Blues relied too much on Binnington. Still, it was good to see him bounce back after getting pulled in his last start. I think he’d like to have that first one back, but it was not really a bad goal.

The win came just when it was needed. The team needs have no concern over the standings, but the Blues had fallen out of first place for the first time since the very beginning of the season.

They needed a win to stop the losing streak in its infancy and keep pace with the rest of the division. They got it and in style.

Now, they can focus on taking care of business against Chicago instead of worrying about streaks.