St. Louis Blues: Pros And Cons From Game 76 On EA Sports

The video game St. Louis Blues were fresh off a two-game win streak. Things got wild down in Florida as they took on the Panthers looking for win number three.

The St. Louis Blues seemed to be gaining momentum heading into their final clash of the season with the Florida Panthers. The Blues were fresh off two straight wins and were improving each game.

They snuck by the Philadelphia Flyers. Then, despite a few lapses in play, they dominated the Carolina Hurricanes.

As mentioned, things got wild down in Florida and it had nothing to do with Miami beach. The game was not at all a Blues style, but you take them as they come.

The Panthers got the better of the early chances, but both teams were generating some offense. Both Jordan Binnington and Sergei Bobrovsky were up to the task in the early going.

The first goal of the game was odd in many respects. The Blues won the faceoff and then Jaden Schwartz got the puck down low. It seemed as though he made the wrong choice by passing it off instead of taking a chance while in close.

He found Ryan O’Reilly in the high slot and, against character, not only did O’Reilly shoot, but he unleashed a slap shot. O’Reilly hit the post and the puck went in for the first goal of the game and a 1-0 Blues lead.

The Blues almost added a second late in the period. Justin Faulk was denied twice in close, once with the pad and the second went into the glove.

The Panthers turned up the heat in the second period. Binnington and his defenders were up to the task in the first 10 minutes, keeping Florida at bay with key saves and some blocked shots.

Despite some Panther pressure, it would be St. Louis to grab the next goal with 91 seconds left in the second. Alex Pietrangelo got into the slot but was denied with a blocker save. However, the puck went right to Schwartz on the side of the crease who banged it into an empty net for a 2-0 lead.

The Panthers would get on the board in the third period though. After driving into the zone on the left wing, there was space to find a man in front and Aaron Eckblad would knock in the cross-ice one timer to cut the lead in half.

As they did in Carolina, the Blues answered. This time it was David Perron scoring midway through the period, over the shoulder, to push the lead to 3-1 for the good guys.

Perron got a second with under a minute to go. He initially tried to just put it on net to kill time, but that was blocked. He fielded his own rebound and chipped one in on the backhand to make it 4-1.

The Panthers did not give up through. Jonathan Huberdeau found himself mostly unguarded in the left side of the slot with just 22 seconds remaining and he fired a wrist shot past Binnington to make it 4-2.

The Blues killed off the game though. Marco Scandella would score off an empty netter after Schwartz was way too unselfish and skated around the zone for about three seconds before dropping it to the defenseman. The Blues would win 5-2.

Cons: Poor defensive choices

One thing that seems to be true for the Blues, whether real life or virtual, is the defenders make bad choices at times. That is not to say they did it on purpose.

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They think what they are doing is right. However, it doesn’t turn out right and the opposite choice would have been better.

Case in point was the Panthers first goal. The winger drives past O’Reilly, but is still kept along the boards.

Carl Gunnarsson decides to vacate a more proper defensive position to help with the puck carrier. This allows Eckblad to get into space and score, virtually unguarded. If Gunnarsson stays in position, he might have knocked the pass down at least.

Credit still goes to Eckblad for making the play and he did have Alex Pietrangelo on his back. However, once the pass is connected on there was little Petro could do except try to pin the stick down and that’s a 50/50 proposition at best.

Pros: Forwards clicking

The defenders still had a good deal to do with generating the offense, but it was great to see the forwards being the ones to end it. All three initial goals for the Blues were scored by forwards, which has not always been the case of late.

O’Reilly is not a guy you expect to unleash a slap shot. However, he looked to put it on net, which is never a bad thing, and got rewarded for it.

Schwartz was in the right place at the right time. So many games in the past, the Blues have flown by the net or failed to get around defenders, allowing rebounds to be swatted away. Schwartz dug in for position right on the doorstep and got his just desserts.

Perron continued to show why changing his stick was such a good decision. When he fielded the pass, after some pinpoint passes to get it there, he snapped it over the shoulder. He was only six to eight feet away from the goal, which makes it hard to get that much elevation, but Perron did just that.

Perron got his second by not giving up on the play. It could be seen as an indictment that his initial attempt was not meant as a scoring play, but once he saw the avenue he took it.

Then, while Schwartz only gets an assist on the last goal, he was the driving force behind it. He possessed the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive end. He should have taken the shot himself, but killed off some time and then fed Scandella who fired it in.

Still, both Perron and Schwartz ended up as two of the three stars of the game and deservedly so.

Overview

Another good win for the Blues and much better all around. They have build on each win over the last three games and, slowly, fixed their mistakes.

They still needed Binnington to make some big saves, but the games where you shut down another team’s offense completely are few and far between. As long as your goaltender is making those saves and the Panthers were not getting tons of grade-A chances, then you’re alright. The Blues defense held Florida to just 18 shots on goal and much of that was due to some good blocking in front.

Offensively, the team was really clicking. They were not bad in Carolina by any stretch of the imagination. However, it felt forced as though each goal was a chore and you were not quite sure if there would be another.

In this game, there was a flow to the offense. The passing was working and the guys you want scoring were doing so.

Yes, the Blues have had eight-game win streaks throughout the season so three games is not quite as impressive. A three-game win streak coming off of two straight losses is impressive enough though.

Now, it’s back up the coast to take on the Washington Capitals.