The St. Louis Blues hoped to keep the good vibes going one night after a 1-0 win over Winnipeg. Facing the New York Rangers was like seeing a mirror image where the team expected to be better, but had some injury issues that were hit or miss.
The first period in this game was mostly a hit for the Rangers and a miss for the Blues, until late, anyway. St. Louis got outshot 10-5 overall and had most of those five shots later in the first.
It never felt like the Rangers were in full control, but you could tell it was the second game of a back-to-back for the Blues. Nevertheless, St. Louis grabbed a lead.
Jonatan Berggren got his first with the team with 1:02 left. His right skate was literally on the end line, but he roofed a shot off the crossbar and down to make it 1-0.
St. Louis nearly got a second goal in the first 30 seconds of the second period. Alexey Toropchenko just could not stuff it in on the scramble.
Once the Rangers killed off a Blues power play early on, their offense came back to life. They nearly scored on a rush play, but Jordan Binnington made a pad save and then somehow stopped a rebound that was behind him as his blocker just came down to divert the puck.
Unfortunately, the Blues took a penalty on that play. While the penalty kill did a good job, the Rangers got the power play goal with five seconds left on the power play when a left wing shot went off a skate in front and barely under Binnington's pad.
The Blues took another penalty shortly after, though it was a pretty weak interference call where Pavel Buchnevich was shoved into the guy. Thanks to Binnington, the Blues managed to kill that off.
The rest of the period was a back-and-forth with the typical Blues struggles. The power play went 0-3 in the period and really didn't create much. Truthfully, they struggled to even get the puck off the wall.
Nevertheless, both teams had looks. The Blues had a good chance on a transition play, and Binnington also bailed the team out on a Rangers break with a good blocker save.
St. Louis came out well in the third period. They got an early shot on goal, and Dalibor Dvorsky blew up a Rangers player right in front of the penalty box around the three-minute mark.
The Blues had some decent pressure through the third, but their best looks either missed or glanced off the goalie's shoulder and out of play. As the period went along, it felt more and more like something odd might happen since the Rangers had so few chances, but the Blues weren't burying theirs.
That nearly happened when the Rangers knocked Binnington down and then hit the post with about 1:10 left. The Blues saw out those final moments, and it went to overtime.
St. Louis came into OT, 0-7. They left OT, 0-8. Despite some decent Blues possession, the Rangers won a defensive faceoff, transitioned, and used a screen in front of Binnington to score on the blocker side.
Con: Overtime
I've said it before, but you're going to read it again - three-on-three overtime is a joke. One shot on goal. That's what both teams had, and the Rangers one shot went in.
It's gross. I give the coaches all the credit in the world for figuring out how to slow it down, but the entire premise was that three-on-three would be fast and exciting. It's more boring now than it's ever been.
We're not seeing any skill. We're not seeing many fantastic, individual efforts to take on defenders. It's more often just a lucky bounce.
The Blues dominated the third period and actually played somewhat well in overtime. They end up with a loss anyway, partially because of a dumb league rule.
Pro: New guys
Otto Stenberg and Jonatan Berggren continue to impress. I don't have a clue where they would fit in when everyone is healthy, but that's not the point.
What I like is the effort. These aren't big guys - both are listed at 5'11, and that might be a little generous - but they aren't afraid. Both drive the net, plant themselves there if they don't have the puck and were willing to throw their bodies too. Berggren scoring his first goal didn't hurt either.
Con: Nobody stepping up
The Blues played well and actually dominated in the third period. They lost though.
Chris Pronger put it perfectly in the post-game show. When a team is struggling to score goals at five-on-five, you have to have someone step up, even if it's a different hero every night.
Nobody was the hero in this game. Thomas has played better with six points in his last six games, but he continues to hit the goalie with a lot of his shots and show visible frustration.
He's not alone, as many of the veterans just aren't stepping up in the big moments. The power play could have sealed the game if they got just one goal, but they went 0-3 despite having six minutes of power play time in the second period.
If Igor Shesterkin stole the game, you'd tip your cap. The Blues just didn't get that guy to step up and score or at least force that highlight reel save.
Overview:
In terms of the fun-meter, I'll take this game 10 times over the performances we saw against Nashville and Boston. The problem is that we don't have time for moral victories.
The Blues should have won. They outshot their opponent and outchanced them. They also played a decent second period instead of finding ways to give the puck away and defend for 20 minutes.
When the offense can't get the job done, you're not going to win. You can't depend on shutouts every night.
Binnington bailed the Blues out several times, but the lack of offense is just tiring. St. Louis has two 1-0 wins this year, and that's almost unheard of in today's NHL. The issue is that they score so little, they're forcing their goalies to get shutouts just to give them a chance.
I try to think positively about this team, but they find ways to take that away. If you're always in close games, it's plausible to have eight overtime losses. Vegas has 10 right now and they're in a playoff spot. Statistically, it feels near impossible to lose all eight overtime games you've had all season long and yet here we are.