St. Louis Blues Pros And Cons From Game 50 At Vancouver

The St. Louis Blues went into the All-Star break on a bit of a slide, losing two games. They wanted to end that, but a surging Vancouver Canucks stood in their way.

The St. Louis Blues were hoping the 10-day rest they had from the All-Star break combining with their off week would provide them some jump and an end to a two-game losing streak. Instead, the Blues ran into a brick wall in the Vancouver Canucks net.

The Blues started the game off well. St. Louis scored just a little over three minutes into the game.

Vancouver did outshoot St. Louis 10-9 in the first period, but it never really felt like the Canucks had a firm control. They had a few quality chances here or there, but Jake Allen was solid in his first start after the All-Star break.

Unfortunately, the second period had other things in store for the Blues. While St. Louis doubled the shot totals of the Canucks in the middle frame, it was Vancouver that would score and score twice.

The first one was just a quick snipe from the slot that did not allow Jake Allen to get set. The second one was a blocked shot that led to a three-on-one. Allen had no chance to make the save.

The Blues kept creating chances. They had power plays and odd-man rushes, but just could not generate the tying goal, as close as they came here or there.

Vancouver would score an empty net goal based on David Perron‘s stick breaking, which opened a gap at the blue line. The Blues played well overall, but just could not find that tying goal.

Cons: Officials

Don’t let this section fool you. The referees and linesmen did not truly cost the Blues the game.

They were not absolutely horrible either. Most of the penalties called were penalties, but they had a game where they seemed over their heads at times.

The linesmen missed or allowed the Canucks several times where they had too many men on the ice. There were three shift changes in the second period alone where they had six men and one of those was very close to seven men. One of those, the guy that came off the bench was a good 25 feet down the ice before his teammate got to the bench. I don’t want to hear any crap about Vancouver didn’t have the puck here or there or the extra player did not touch the puck. They had too many men and for as many times as it gets called against the Blues, Vancouver should not have gotten away with these.

There were also several penalties not called. Even though the Blues had their share of power plays, they could have had more. Beyond just the missed too many men calls, the Canucks got away with a crosscheck/interference late in the game in addition to a few other minor things that easily could have been whistled.

The officials called at least two, maybe more, icings when they should not have. One was a clear instance where the Canucks defender went for a check on the man with no intention to play the puck and since neither touched the puck, they called an icing when it should not have been since the defender had every opportunity to play the puck.

Late in the game, with things still close, the officials literally made up a call against Brayden Schenn. IF there was a penalty, it would have been against Jaden Schwartz, but they put Schenn in the box with all confidence. Making matters worse, there was no high stick. There might have been a hook by Schwartz, but the Vancouver attacker just thrust their head backward as though they’d been shot and the referees bit on it.

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As mentioned, other than the phantom call on Schenn, most of the penalties called on either side were penalties. However, you just got the sense that this entire crew was not NHL ready, regardless of how much league time they may or may not have. They did not seem comfortable in some calls and made other calls/non-calls that should have been no brainers, but went the other way.

Pros: Good energy

One thing you worry about coming off an extended layoff is energy level. The players always say the right things, but no matter how ready you are for a game mentally, sometimes the body has other ideas.

From an energy output standpoint, there was nothing wrong with this game. You can argue about this decision or that pass, but the Blues were skating hard, forechecking at a decent rate and definitely generating scoring opportunities.

The only detraction from their own output was that it was matched by the Canucks. Vancouver did a great job, especially late in the game, at keeping the Blues on the perimeter.

More often than not, the Blues were unable to breakdown the Vancouver defense, even with quick passes. Nevertheless, this was the sort of game that if the Blues had the same energy and drive in every other game this season, they would win 90% of the time.

Cons: Missed opportunities

We can sit here and praise the Vancouver goalie and he deserves his fair share. Thatcher Demko made some great saves and was the main reason the Blues could not tie or win.

That said, it has to be mentioned that the Blues came up empty on a lot of chances that might have been different. Demko was a big reason for that, but the Blues could have done better at times.

St. Louis went 0-3 on the power play. One of those times, they were in the offensive zone for almost the entire two minutes.

The Blues had their chances, but they also passed up some or invited pressure from the penalty kill by not being decisive enough. The puck moved, but not crisply enough or to the right spot. St. Louis would often just keep trying the same thing, like feeding behind the net and looking to reverse. Eventually, you have to try something new when those things are not working.

On another matter, Schwartz got robbed with a little more than six minutes to go in the third period. It was a great save, but it was also one of those game changing moments where you just hope your star players will find a way to get it through the five-hole or chip it in. Instead, Schwartz put it right into the pad and it deflected pad to pad instead of just going in. If you really look at it, the Blues were lucky to get a goal at all. Zach Sanford actually missed most of his shot. If he gets good wood on that goal, it likely ends in a save. Instead, he caught it on the heel of the stick and it bounced off the post and the goalie’s skate.

On top of all that, the Blues just had to take advantage of an exhausted Canucks team and did not. There were two separate instances where the Canucks kept icing the puck because they were freaked out and fatigued by the Blues pressure. However, St. Louis did nothing with it. They didn’t really force any big saves in those instances, it was just a lot of possession and hoping the Canucks would make a mistake that never came.

Overview

Overall, I agree with the TV crew that this was a game the Blues win more times than not if they play the exact same way. It is just disappointing to come off the positivity of the All-Star event and then continue a losing streak that began over two weeks ago.

The Blues had the energy and jump, but the execution was not quite there. St. Louis was sloppy at times too.

There were not a ton of ill-fated moments, but it just felt like the Blues little mistakes were punished and the Canucks were not. The game-winning goal was an example of that where a blocked shot leads to a three-on-one because everyone had jumped into the offense too quickly.

Lost in the shuffle is a good night for Jake Allen. The Snake made several big saves in the first period to allow his team to hold the 1-0 lead. There was basically nothing he could do about either of the goals, but since his counterpart was better, he picks up the loss.

This game also snaps a long streak of unbeaten hockey. St. Louis was the only team left in the NHL that had not lost in regulation when scoring the first goal of the game. That ended with this game against Vancouver.

There is no time to dwell on any of this. The Blues board a plane for Calgary and face the Flames tomorrow night.