The St. Louis Blues really started the second half of the season in earnest with a big home stand. After dominating on the road last season, the Blues have been more solid at home in 2019-20 and were hoping to keep that alive against the Buffalo Sabres.
For their part, it has been a mediocre season for the Sabres thus far. They have not been terrible, but it’s been up and down and the Sabres entered the night seven points out of a playoff spot.
Of course, it has to sting Sabres fans that not one of the players acquired for Ryan O’Reilly was playing in this game. Injury or personal issues saw to that.
Regardless of that stuff, the Blues came in focused solely on the game. They came out strong too.
While the game was not offensively charged – both sides combined for four shots in the first 12 minutes – the Blues got off to a good start. They had the first two shots of the game and kept up the pressure, scoring on their third shot with another solid combination from the third line – Robert Thomas with the goal and Tyler Bozak the assist.
St. Louis was fortunate to remain in the lead just after that. Jack Eichel rang one off the bar after being given too much space.
The Blues were not dominating, but they were good enough. The persevered and were rewarded with a second goal from the third line, this time with the goal/assist combination coming in reverse.
Circling back, literally and figuratively, Eichel would make the Blues pay for having space. Not quite five minutes into the second period, the Sabres captain would sore to slice the lead in half.
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The Blues did not wallow, thankfully. They got a power play close to halfway through the game. They made the Sabres pay with a slap shot from the point, gaining a 3-1 lead.
They almost had a 4-1 lead. As with the San Jose game, the goal was called back for offside.
St. Louis would eventually get their fourth though. On what looked like a disjointed play, the Blues third line combined again.
The Blues would cap things off with a rare empty net goal and a 5-1 win.
Pros: Sweet Third Line Combo
The Blues have not had the luxury of line combinations staying together start to present, but we also lose track of the fact the lines were only the same in the second half of 2018-19. So, line changes, in and of themselves, are not terrible.
However, one thing has continued from last season into this one – the current combination of the third line has been one of the team’s most consistent and best. After a slow start with plenty of bad breaks, Bozak has come to life, with five points in his last five games.
Thomas has often been the beneficiary of Bozak’s hot streak, either setting up his scores or getting a good pass to get his own. The latter option was the Blues first goal of the game.
This goal was, admittedly, more about Thomas than the set up. Thomas took the pass off the wall, curled around and sniped one. Still, Bozak had the wherewithal to snap a pass through two defenders and it did get to its target, even if in an unconventional way.
The second goal was a much better showcase of the chemistry these two forwards have.
It was almost a mirror image of the first goal. This time it was Thomas with the set up from the left and Bozak roofed the shot over a prone goaltender for a 2-0 lead. Adding some sugar to that was Niko Mikkola picking up his first NHL point.
This line was absolutely red hot. They all picked up more points on the team’s fourth goal. After it appeared as though they had missed a great chance to score, the trio kept at it and eventually Alex Steen scored his first goal of the season.
Cons: Missed call on Buffalo’s first
I have no problem with Vince Dunn as a person or an offensive player. However, his defensive skills are not where they probably should be at this point of his career.
Perhaps the defensive end will never fully be his forte. There are plenty of defensemen who are mainly known for their offense. Kevin Shattenkirk springs to mind.
With all the guff Dunn gets, he was not at as much fault as many initially thought on Buffalo’s goal. Watching it at live speed, it seemed as though Dunn had let Eichel blow by him, circle to the front unopposed and rip one into the goal.
Upon further review, that was not the case.
Eichel gets full marks for the shot itself. He never should have had that much space and that is not fully on the Blues defense.
Dunn does his job following his man behind the net so as to not create a logjam in front or allow the wraparound. He even gets a good stick tap in there while avoiding the penalty.
Dunn should have been in the shooting lane or close to it. What went unnoticed, by myself initially and apparently the referees, was the clear interference.
The likely reason it was not called was it being “incidental”. The Sabres player was battling with David Perron and as Perron exited the space, Dunn ran into him.
My problem with this is we need to have a more clear concensus as to when incidental clears someone of wrongdoing and when it is called regardless. We see lots of penalties called when the offending player had no intention of committing a certain act, but the fact it happened is penalized anyway. In my opinion, this should be that way too since Dunn would have been in position if he was not knocked off his path.
Everyone else is in the position they should be. One can argue that Zach Sanford could have gotten over quicker to help, but if he vacates his spot and Eichel slips a pass through, Sanford gets in trouble anyway. It was just a no-win scenario for everyone.
Pros: Perron Sizzles
Speaking of hot players for the Blues, it would be hard not to mention David Perron. He continues to make All-Star decision makers look silly for leaving him off – the Last Men In vote not withstanding.
Perron came into the game as one of the Blues best players and continued to show up in big situations. With the Blues on a power play, he fired one in from distance and gave the team a 3-1 lead.
Perron’s confidence is a big component of the goal. Perron is not afraid to shoot, but if he is not on a roll, he probably does not unleash a one-time slap shot from close to the blue line. He is feeling it lately and got the goal as a result.
Perron now has three goals and six points in his last six games. He has been Mr. Consistent too, not going more than two games without a point since he ended a three-game drought on October 19.
Cons: Double Snake Eyes For Kyrou
Coming up snake eyes, which is a dice rolling term for those unaware, twice is a rare feat. In fact, the odds against rolling snake eyes twice in a row is 1296 to 1. Pretty hard to do, right?
Poor Jordan Kyrou just did it in two straight games. Now, we have to wait and see what his future is.
Against the San Jose Sharks, one game prior, Kyrou had his own goal called back for being offside. On the zone entry, Kyrou failed to keep his skate on the blue line long enough for the puck to fully enter. It was a disappointing change as it negated a fine shot and what would have been his third goal of the year.
Fast forward one game and it was deja vu. This time, however, Kyrou’s inability to keep the skate on the ice cost Jaden Schwartz a goal. The kicker on this one was if the NHL used NFL rules, it would have been onside. Unfortunately, the blue line does not have a plane that continues upward into the sky.
If you are not touching the ice, that body part does not count as being onside. The odd thing is that this is the first time in Kyrou’s career it has happened. He told Darren Pang he has never been called offside on a goal in his entire career, including juniors and below.
Craig Berube is smart, so hopefully he sees the effort Kyrou has put forth and not the mistake by itself. I will give credit to the coaching staff, but it would not surprise if Kyrou is forced to sit again.
Overview
While the Blues were good against San Jose, this was a better overall performance. You could argue the defense fell asleep once or twice, leaving their best player free twice, but that is if you really want to find something wrong.
The offense was clicking on several lines. The only line that was kept quite was the fourth line, but as good as they have been over the course of this year, that’s fine.
The goaltending was very good. Jordan Binnington continues his ascent back to a lofty spot among the faithful. He had quick legs, solid positioning and kept his focus, which is hard when the opponent has so few shots.
The Blues have actually struggled against the Eastern Conference this season, which is a departure from recent times. So, even though Buffalo is currently a playoff outlier, it was good to beat a team from out east.
This win was the Blues seventh in a row on home ice, which is a nice reward to the fans that have paid good money to see the team.
The Force was strong with the Blues on Star Wars night. Now, it’s a day off and then another home game against the New York Rangers on Saturday.