I give the St. Louis Blues credit for one thing this season - you truly have no clue what to expect from them. They had two absolute stinkers against the Boston Bruins and then the Nashville Predators, just to turn around and take care of business against the Chicago Blackhawks.
For once, the Blues came to play from the opening bell. They weren't world beaters, but they at least looked prepared to start well.
They also took the lead, which has been a good and bad thing, but this team must play from ahead. Logan Mailloux continued his resurgence with his first goal in a Blues uniform at 3:41. With the Blues about to go on a power play, the Blues defender took a cross-ice pass, skated into the left circle, and absolutely wired a wrister into the far side netting to make it 1-0.
About eight minutes later, another man got his first in a Blues uniform. Matt Luff got the pass from the left wall and snapped one home from just above the right hash mark, and it was 2-0 with a little more than eight minutes left.
Unfortunately, the lead didn't last as long as you'd like. St. Louis got pushed inside their zone, and defenseman Wyatt Kaiser was allowed to drive into the high slot and fire one high to make it 2-1 with just over four minutes left. St. Louis would retain that lead into the intermission and also got a Mailloux fight.
The first few minutes of the second period gave a lot of worries. It seemed as though the Blues were going to fall into their normal trap of getting caught on the ice too long and having no offense.
After some good shifts and some physical play, the Blues finally woke up. Even though they didn't have a ton of pressure, they managed to get the only goal of the period. Justin Faulk somehow slipped a close shot just inside the post (I've watched it about four times and still can't tell how it snuck in) and the Blues made it last with a 3-1 score going into the second intermission.
The offense continued to taper off with only six shots in the third period and no shots for the first few minutes. Still, the Blues had their chances. The best was a breakaway for Dylan Holloway that he backhanded off the right post and glanced it off the crossbar, too.
St. Louis couldn't make it easy on the home fans, though. Despite winning a defensive-zone faceoff, the puck came to the left circle and got swatted back across the crease to an open Andre Burakovsky, who tapped it in for a 3-2 score.
The Blues actually had legitimate chances to score on the empty net and didn't get it done. They did play their best with the opposing net empty that we may have seen all season, though. Even with that in mind, they allowed a Chicago shot with 0.8 seconds left that still put lumps in the throat. In the end, the Blues held on for a 3-2 win.
Pro: Mailloux
This may have been Logan Mailloux's best game in a Blues uniform. It was definitely his most complete.
Cam Fowler continues to have issues, so this may not be the best pairing, but at least it's not due to Mailloux right now. He was solid.
Of course, when you get the opening goal of the game, you're going to give fans a reason to watch your game with a positive outlook. It wasn't just the offense, though.
While Mailloux wasn't credited with a hit, he's showing more of that grit and physical style we were promised when the trade was made. Although he probably did not win the fight, it was good to see him step to the plate and step up for the team in that moment.
Con: Still too much in the middle
When you watch the game objectively instead of with just a fan's mindset, you see things a little more fairly. The example I would give is there was a goal the Blues gave up against Nashville, where Mailloux got some flak for being in a bad position on the side of the crease. When you actually watch him during the whole play, he's in the spot he needs to be and even cross-checks Steven Stamkos out. It was bad luck that the puck went right to Stamkos.
Flash forward to the game against Chicago, and it remains a puzzle. While attending the game, I heard several fans saying the team was backing in too much. While that's not a lie, the reality is that defenders have to back up once the opponent is coming in with too much speed.
The problem comes when there's nobody on the backcheck or nobody tracking through the zone on cycles, to cover the middle. Even though the Blues were better, this continued against the Blackhawks.
We saw it on the first Hawks goal. On zone entry, four guys converge on Connor Bedard. While Matt Luff does stay at the blue line, there's no one backing off to cover the middle, and Luff had lost all momentum. That allowed Kaiser to come in and have an uncontested shot.
He wasn't the only one, but he was the only one who scored. There's still a little too much uncontested ice in the middle.
Pro: Finally a good second
I'm not going to lie and say this was a perfect period. St. Louis still had some shifts that went too long, and, especially in the first few minutes, they made boneheaded plays where they held the puck too long or passed back into trouble instead of utilizing open ice.
But, just as we have to take game wins however they come, you have to take the small wins within a game as they come. The Blues finally had a good second period.
They didn't allow themselves to be hemmed in other than a shift or two, which happens in any period. They also didn't allow Chicago to just pepper their goalie with relentless chances.
The Blackhawks had 12 second-period shots, which was their most in any period in this game. However, the Blues actually had nine shots and missed the net a few times. So, there was an amount of pushback that we haven't seen much this year, if at all.
The goal was the icing on the cake. St. Louis hasn't had much luck this year, so it was good to get some puck luck with a seeing-eye shot that squeezed through a hole that couldn't be more than three inches.
Overview:
Take the win and run. The Blues deserved to win this game, but it's another 60 minutes that showcase why this team is so confusing and confounding.
The bottom six played with heart, tenacity, and ferocity. It influenced the top six forwards and got their butts in gear, too.
We've seen guys, or lines, play with purpose in other games, and it has had no impact. Regardless of who played hard here, the question becomes, why is this not repeatable?
Chicago still has flaws, but they're a good team. Why can the Blues handle them but get blown out by other teams, including other teams that aren't in the playoff race right now?
That's a question I don't have an answer to, and I don't think the coaches do either. So, all you can do is look at this game in a microcosm.
The Blues came out hard and had a good start. We haven't seen much of that. They had a good second period where they limited the quality chances against and also scored a goal.
The third period was probably the Blues' weakest, but when you give yourself some breathing room in the first two periods, you can absorb a little of that better. It was just a good performance - not perfect, but good.
St. Louis allowed 29 shots, but Hofer really only needed to make a handful of quality saves. He didn't steal it as the goalies have in other games.
I won't call this old-school hockey since the fights were forced and weak, but it was a fun game to be at. It was more a friendly rivalry, more similar to Cubs-Cardinals, but there was still a hint of the rivalry we've grown up with.
It helps to be on the winning side. Ultimately, we just need to enjoy this win because we have no clue how the game on Monday will go. The Blues could easily lose 8-0, or win 5-2, and this result has no impact on it, even if it should. Two points against Chicago is always a good night.