St. Louis Blues: Pros And Cons From Game 75 On EA Sports

The video game St. Louis Blues were coming off a close win over the Philadelphia Flyers as they headed south to face the Carolina Hurricanes. The Blues should have known it would not be easy as Carolina is fighting for the playoffs.

The St. Louis Blues, at least the video game version, had struggled with their recent games. They lost to San Jose and lowly Ottawa before squeaking out a victory in Philadelphia.

It took overtime to win that one, barely stealing the final point. St. Louis should have known things would not get any easier in Carolina.

However, the game started off rather inauspiciously. The Blues took a penalty just 55 seconds into the game.

The Blues gave the Hurricanes two quick chances too. The Canes managed to get two consecutive looks from the slot, but Jordan Binnington bailed out the Note twice.

St. Louis’ penalty kill calmed down after that. They got their wits about them and kept Carolina from generating any further chances.

The problem was a lack of offense. In the first 11 and a half minutes, the Blues had next to none.

Despite this, the Blues struck first. After a Zach Sanford shot was stopped from the left, the Hurricane’s defender tried to put it back into his goaltender’s pad to be frozen. Instead, it slid by and Tyler Bozak tucked it in with 4:53 left, or so it would seem. They credited the goal to Sanford, meaning it was last touched by the defender.

The Blues doubled their lead with half a second left in the first. Justin Faulk took a shot from the right point and David Perron was in front for a tip.

Carolina came out fast in the second. Binnington had to make a pad save right on the doorstep just 32 seconds in.

More from Analysis

• St. Louis Blues and Cardinals Similar In All The Wrong Ways
• St. Louis Blues Pros/Cons From 2022-23 Game 82 At Dallas
• St. Louis Blues Pros/Cons From 2022-23 Game 81 Vs Dallas
• St. Louis Blues Pros/Cons From 2022-23 Game 80 At Minnesota
• St. Louis Blues Pros/Cons From 2022-23 Game 79 Vs NY Rangers

After that, the game evened out, with the teams trading quality chances. Unfortunately, the next goal would go to the Hurricanes as they finally cashed in on a chance from the slot with Michael Ferland snapping one past the glove.

The Blues would return to a two-goal lead in the third though. Faulk stepped right into a shot off the faceoff and beat the goalie to the blocker side to make it 3-1 at 4:14.

St. Louis would put the icing on the cake with under a minute to go. After missing a wide open net, Sanford was given a second, harder, opportunity and managed to get the empty netter at 19:35 to put the game on ice 4-1.

Pros: Binnington

St. Louis was thanking their lucky stars that Jordan Binnington was on his game in this one. Binnington was showing playoff-like form right from the start.

He made those two key saves early in the game and set the tone for the rest of the contest. While one goal did get by, Binnington was in the heads of his opponents and there was little they could do.

The Hurricanes came out with purpose in the second period. Binnington slammed the door with another early save.

Carolina tried to mount something late in the seocond, when the game was still close. Binnington came up with a gigantic blocker save off a shot from the right circle with under four to go.

Binner made all the saves he needed and a couple he had no business getting to. Regardless of how it was in the arena, he was the top star.

Cons: Reliance on Binnington

It is all well and good that the Blues goaltender was on his game and sharp. However, the fact he got tested so much, especially early, falls on the defending.

There were times in this game that Carolina looked like they were on the power play. That is something we have seen throughout this series – the Blues get caught standing around, with no puck attack and the other team looks like they have an extra attacker.

There were too many defensive breakdowns too. While the early shots came on the power play, there were still far too many chances coming from the slot or in close.

The Blues players, not just their fans, need to be thanking their goaltender for bailing them out.

Pros: Faulk

Justin Faulk has gotten a lot of flak since arriving in St. Louis. While he has not had the kind of production he is used to, much of that flak is undeserved.

Fans love to have a whipping boy. Faulk is just the current name in a long list.

In this game, he was superb offensively. Yes, he was not helping things defensively, but the entire unit was lacking in that department.

Faulk picked up an assist on the team’s second goal. Perron got the deflection, but Faulk’s shot was headed for a good scoring chance on it’s own.

Then, he netted a valuable insurance goal with a snap shot from just outside the circle. The Blues did not end up needing that goal, but it still put doubt in the Hurricanes’ minds instead of letting them think they had a chance.

Overview

After some disappointing losses at home, the Blues have found comfort on the road. This is a departure from real life where the Blues have been dominant at home and so-so on the road, but it comes at the right time.

St. Louis has strung together two wins at the most important time of the season. Now, they head even further down the coast to the Sunshine State.

The Blues will take on the Florida Panthers, another team clawing to stay alive in the playoff hunt. We’ll see if the Blues stay hungry and forget their manners. Nobody will get that reference, but it is still apt.