The St. Louis Blues took on the Winnipeg Jets for the second time in as many games.
The St. Louis Blues were expecting a rough and tumble rivalry game in their second game in a row against the Winnipeg Jets. Instead, the contest looked a little more like an interconference game.
Neither team had their A-game to begin things. It was a few minutes into the game before both teams had a shot on goal.
Things stayed 1-1 for shots for quite awhile. By the end of the period, each team only had seven shots on goal. In today’s NHL, that is almost unheard of.
The Blues managed to string together a few shifts late in the first. They would get on the board first too on a nice rebound goal.
The second period was much of the same from the Blues. There was not much jump in the early going.
Winnipeg found their legs, rattling off the first six shots of the middle frame. The Blues were playing with fire and eventually got burned.
St. Louis turned it over along the boards about six minutes into the period, which led to a two-on-one. A one timer was impossible to stop and led to a 1-1 game.
The Blues remained focused, if not playing well. They took advantage of a poor line change late in the second period and regained their lead.
The Blues grabbed the game by the horns in the third period. It was still not their best effort overall, but they got the job done.
The offense picked up, outshooting Winnipeg 14-8 in the third and St. Louis chipped in two more goals. One was through the run of play and one was an empty net goal.
St. Louis scored nine goals in two games against the Jets and won this one 4-1.
Pros: Late surge in the first
You can never have the same performance night to night or sometimes even shift to shift. That said, it was a little disappointing to see how uneventful the first period was for both teams.
Late in the period, however, the Blues finally kicked it into gear. You could see something good coming since the Blues were finally on their toes and playing their game.
St. Louis had a handful of good shifts before they scored. Then, with about six minutes left in the period, Ryan O’Reilly found the back of the net.
Oskar Sundqvist had the initial chance, but that was blocked. The loose puck came to the top of the slot and Alex Pietrangelo fired it in with plenty of zip. Connor Hellebuyck made the save, but O’Reilly was on the spot and just slipped the rebound in.
It was the culmination to some solid play and a deserved goal. The Blues carried that momentum into the intermission as they kept on their toes to kill off an important penalty in the last two minutes of the frame.
Cons: Sloppy second
If the Blues were starting to stumble as the first period ended, giving up a few chances and a power play, they fell over at the start of the second period. The Blues were even more lifeless to start the middle frame.
The Blues allowed the first six shots of the period. Shots against are not always a great indicator how a game went, but these were good chances.
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The Jets came out with their legs in the second period and either the Blues were not ready or not able to respond. Winnipeg looked like they were going to score and eventually did.
You could sense it coming. The Jets had several shifts where they were putting pressure on the Blues back line and eventually they cracked.
Sadly, it was not something the Jets did that caused the goal. The Blues turned the puck over with a poorly aimed clearance and Winnipeg picked the puck off. That set up a two-on-one and Jordan Binnington has absolutely no chance to stop the ripped one-time shot.
The Blues would get the goal back and go into the intermission up 2-1, but for about 80% of the second period, they were badly outplayed.
Pros: Thomas and Kyrou and Bortz, oh my
Blues fans got a little taste of the future with the play of their high-profile youngsters. Both Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou had a heck of a game and all but carried the team.
Kyrou got his first two point game in the NHL, which was met with no fanfare because Kyrou has done that plenty in the AHL and junior. He acted like he’d been there before.
The first one was especially nice. Kyrou took a long stretch pass from Brayden Schenn and broke into the zone. He held up just long enough for Jaden Schwartz to come in and Kyrou found him with a smart pass for a quick goal and a 2-1 lead.
Kyrou also picked up an assist on the team’s third goal. That goal was more a result of the hard work of Thomas however.
Thomas made a smart hockey play in dragging his trail leg to keep the play onside. Kyrou set up Vince Dunn, whose shot was blocked. Thomas had the composure to get the puck settled and then roof it for the insurance goal.
Beyond the points, both are showcasing smarts and puck control beyond their years. Their ability to reverse away from hits while still holding onto the puck is amazing. Perhaps that is something they picked up from David Perron.
Kyrou’s ability to knock pucks loose is not something I expected either. He consistently jabs puck loose with poke checks. He doesn’t always make the steal, but slows up the opponent’s attack if nothing else.
Adding to their great play was the defending of Robert Bortuzzo. For the second straight game, Bortz was putting his body on the line.
I would hate to see his hips and legs after this couple of games against the Jets. They have to be black and blue with the blocks and hits he was making. He ended the game with three blocks.
Overview
This was just one of those games that the Blues had to overcome themselves in order to win. They were not at their best, but they still managed to be better than their opponent.
Ryan O’Reilly got his first goal on home ice in 2019-20. That has been more one of those oddities than anything to worry about, but it was good to get him on the board in the Enterprise Center.
Kyrou keeps improving each game. It is understandable that the Blues are moving him along slowly, but the coaching staff is obviously seeing something fans cannot when they keep swapping Kyrou off the top line.
Shwartz continues to own the Jets. After being a huge reason the Blues won their first round series against the Jets, including a hat trick, Schwartz had two goals and five points in the two back-to-back games against Winnipeg.
Binnington also set a new franchise record and came within a whisker of a new league record for calendar year wins. Binnington won 59 games (with a possibility of 60 to come) in 2019. The record was 62 wins in one calendar year.
As mentioned, the team’s ability to put their body on the line is admirable. We can argue how good a defenseman Bortuzzo is overall, but you cannot doubt his commitment to this team. He has regularly put his body on the line to block shots from some of the harder shots in the league like Patrick Laine and Alex Ovechkin. He does not get the recognition, but you know his teammates and goaltenders appreciate it.
The Blues will now turn their attention west as they will spend the new year in Arizona. It seems a little unfair that the Blues were on the road for every single holiday, but that’s pro sports.
It would certainly end this decade better than the last one if the Blues get a win.