The St. Louis Blues returned home after a long road trip, and nobody knew what to expect against the Ottawa Senators. Would the long trip or turkey coma be to blame for another poor performance or would the beginning of the holiday season invigorate the team?
The opening of the first period seemed to indicate one of the first two choices. The Blues had no shots on goal until they got three during a power play, but that did not come until the period was about half over.
Nevertheless, the Senators weren't all together either. Neither team had a fast start, but both started coming around in the last few minutes. Still, it finished 0-0 after one.
The Blues looked better in the second, getting some early chances and seeming to have more jump than their opponent. It paid off with some pressure that resulted in Oskar Sundqvist banking one in off the goaltender for a 1-0 lead about eight minutes in.
Unfortunately, the Blues still don't know how to handle a push from the opposition, so that goal just woke the Senators up. After a long offensive shift of their own, the Senators scored on a scramble play that ended when Shane Pinto wrapped one around Jordan Binnington to make it 1-1.
The Blues had two power plays in the second half of the second period and didn't even generate any shots. That cost them as the Senators took the lead with 1:34 left. Ottawa won a board battle in the left corner and then a stop-on-a-dime move behind the net led to a wrap-around goal before Binnington could get to the post.
St. Louis had a two-on-one and also a good feed from Logan Mailloux to Brayden Schenn in front, but both chances came up empty. Ottawa carried a 2-1 lead into the second break.
The Blues came out well in the third period. With some early pressure, Jordan Kyrou capped off a rush play with a backhander around the scrambling goalie and we had a 2-2 game just over two minutes in.
Then, St. Louis got the ultimate rarity in 2025 - an even-strength Pavel Buchnevich goal. The Blues got an odd-man rush and Schenn set up Buch on the right wing for a 3-2 lead at 5:33.
St. Louis went back to doing Blues things. Former Blues forward David Perron tied the game 3-3 with a backhander two minutes later. Colton Parayko tried to scrape the puck off the wall and instead, somehow, sent the puck to the waiting Perron in front of the Blues' net.
In another rare change, the Blues didn't hang their heads. They got back to work and, after another big scramble in front with several shots, it was Matthew Kessel to knock it in on a backhand to put the Blues up 4-3 with about half the period left.
St. Louis didn't make it easy, as it stayed a one-goal game late, and the Senators pulled their goalie. Jordan Binnington made several saves down the stretch, including taking one off the mask and keeping Brady Tkachuk off the board. They held on for a 4-3 win.
Pro: Buchnevich
This game was more of a relief as opposed to a revelation. It wasn't so much a great game for Buch as it was a needed result.
He played pretty well overall, picking up the second most ice time of any Blues forward. He had an active stick on the penalty kill and saved a goal by disrupting a cross ice pass that would have set up an empty netter for sure.
It was the goal that put things over the top for him. The guy cares deeply inside, but we don't get to see enough of that outside. He loafs and gets dejected when things aren't right, but this game was different and he got the goal as a result. You could see the frustration melt away like a snowman melting in the sun.
We're a quarter of the way through the season and a top-line player had no even strength goals, so he had to have felt relief. Now, he has to carry it forward.
Cons: Power Play
The Blues power play has been a mix all season. At times, it looks good and threatening, and other times, nothing at all.
In this game, we saw both. The power play had two or three shots on their first time out and then, literally, nothing after that.
They went 0-3 overall, but sometimes even if you don't score, you feel you're wearing out their penalty kill. Instead, the Blues seemed to energize the Senators, which we saw when Ottawa scored shortly after a big kill.
Pro: Binnington
One thing you can tell from most stat-heads is that they definitely did not grow up in the 80s, or maybe even the early 90s. Numbers don't lie, but they don't tell the entire story either.
Go back and look at some of the stats of the greats from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. They were getting pelted, had mediocre save percentages, and still won games. Curtis Joseph, regarded very highly by Blues fans, had several seasons in his career with a save percentage in the high .800's. He kept his team in games, though.
That's what Binnington is doing right now. Take your stats and stick them you know where because the Blues didn't get as many points on the road trip and don't win this game if Binnington doesn't come up with some big saves when it mattered.
Grant Fuhr is another example. He used to tell his teammates that if they could give him a lead in the third period, he'd shut them down from there. That's the mentality that Binnington has, and he showed it down the stretch in this game against Ottawa.
Pro: Fourth line
I fully believe that when your fourth line is your best line, you have problems and won't win many games. I still wish you could transplant the will and determination these guys show onto the rest of the team.
For the uncountable game this season, the Blues were led by that fourth line. Sundqvist got the scoring going just days after the fourth line started the scoring in New Jersey, even though it was a defenseman who got the goal.
They played with jump and physicality. The fourth line had four of the team's 17 hits.
Nobody should expect a ton of goals from them, but they're consistently the most consistent line out there. Even the coach started recognizing that when he put the fourth line out there for an offensive-zone faceoff after an icing against Ottawa.
Overview:
I know there are plenty of fans out there still frustrated with the up-and-down nature of this team and their inability to hold leads. I'm right there with you.
As a personal experience, however, I had fun with this game. I can't remember the last time I had fun watching a Blues game. Wins have been a sigh of relief, and losses have brought out old habits of vocal frustration at the television.
I won't pretend I thought they were going to win the entire time. Every time Ottawa tied things, I expected it to go downhill.
But the team surprised me. They're still looking a bit slow and not as crisp on their plays as we'd all like, but they fought. They didn't cave.
I don't project these things forward any longer. The Blues could easily play their worst game of the season against Utah, but for 60 minutes of game time and about three hours, it was an enjoyable experience.