The St. Louis Blues beat the visiting Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 last night ending a three-game losing streak. Thanks in large part to the return of Oskar Sundqvist.
Oskar Sundqvist, or Sunny, as his teammates and fans call him was coming off of missing 6 games with an injury. He was a welcomed return in a line up searching for cohesion and rhythm.
The Blues over the three-game slide looked like a team searching for each other. What I mean by that is the Blues passes have been off. Either hitting their skates or behind them. Or leading the player far too ahead or going to spots where the players thought the intended receiver would be only to find vacant ice.
It continued to a degree in this game against Vegas as well, but there were some nice stretches, especially in the second period, where the Blues were, well the Blues. The one difference in this game compared to the rest was Oskar Sundqvist.
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Sunny was everywhere! Aside from making a save, although he did block a shot, Sunny owned the game.
He showed the team how they used to play and need to play going forward in order to win.
Let me stop here for just a second. I have to admit that when we received Sunny in the trade for Ryan Reaves and a first-rounder I thought eh another AHLer lifer.
Sorry about that Sunny. I have eaten my words and am happy to say that I was dead wrong. Sunny has become a consummate Blue. He is Mr. Plug and Play for Craig Berube. Need a penalty killed? Sunny. Need the next man up? Sunny. Need a scoring winger? Sunny. Need a goal? Sunny. Need some offensive zone time? Sunny. Need a shot blocked? Sunny. You get the point.
Sundqvist currently has 6 goals and 1 assist in his last 6 games with a +5 in those games and 19 shots on goal. He has been excellent in whatever role Berube needs him to fill.
The Blues were floundering a bit over the last couple of weeks and the chemistry wasn’t there for long stretches. We weren’t getting to our game very much and it seemed at times the Blues didn’t know what their game was to even get to it.
All I want for Christmas are them two front teeth (He’s got some chompers doesn’t he?) on the ice for the Blues the rest of the way this season! Keep the goal-scoring coming, but more importantly, keep playing like a St. Louis Blue Oskar Sundqvist! We love you here!
Drop the puck!