The St. Louis Blues came into their home game against the New York Islanders with a bunch of oddities. Firstly, they were on a four-game win streak, and secondly, their former captain, Brayden Schenn, was back in town less than a week after being traded.
It was an odd time for Schenn, too, as he got to spend two days at his house for a road game instead of a team hotel. The Blues did the right thing, showing a highlight package, and the fans did the right thing in giving Schenn a standing ovation.
As far as the game went, it was a mishmash of new Blues and typical Blues. Even in the first period, we got a mix.
St. Louis went into the intermission up 1-0 despite only having five first-period shots and being outshot by more than a 3-1 margin. Nevertheless, they scored on a beautiful odd-man rush that was set up by Jimmy Snuggerud and finished off by Philip Broberg.
The second period was much of the same. The Blues made the most out of a little, even if the shot margin was a little better at 12-9 within the period.
St. Louis scored their second goal of the game at 9:10. Even though it briefly felt like the game was slipping away, the Blues scored another on a rush into the zone. Dylan Holloway came off the bench on a change, took the drop pass, and wired one from the right circle into the back of the net.
1:27 later, the Blues had grabbed a firm grasp on the game. Robert Thomas continued his surge with a no-look pass to set up a great finish from Snuggerud, and it was 3-0.
Shortly after that, the Blues really put the stranglehold on, scoring their fourth goal of the game. It seemed over as the Islanders were about to pull their goaltender. Unfortunately, Patrick Roy got the call from his replay coach, and they challenged it for offside, which teams almost always win.
It stayed 3-0 with 5:36 to go in the second, which opened the door. The Islanders pushed the door open when JG Pageau scored on an unstoppable backdoor play to make it 3-1.
The intermission didn't help the Blues this time. The penalty kill didn't help either.
Pavel Buchnevich got a double minor for high-sticking, and the Islanders got things done. They cut it to a one-goal game at 5:52 when Jack Finley, who plays for the Blues, knocked the puck into his own net in an attempt to scrape it out of the crease.
The Islanders then tied the game on the second part of the double minor. This time, it was Bo Horvat to snipe one just one minute later and take all the air out of the building.
St. Louis never really responded in regulation. They ended the third period with eight shots, but it was the Islanders buzzing near the end of the period as they almost won it in the final seconds.
The game went to overtime, which favored the Islanders from the percentages. New York came into this game unbeaten in nine times in sudden-death scenarios.
That result did not change. The Blues had good possession here and there, but only got one shot on goal and didn't even get a scoring chance on a two-on-one rush with Logan Mailloux and Snuggerud.
Then they lost in a slightly embarrassing fashion. As proof that the three-on-three concept sucks, Matt Barzal went coast to coast, and just a backhand/forehand move got past Jordan Kyrou for a wrister from the slot and a 4-3 win.
Con: The broadcast
For the second game in a row, the Blues have had a poor broadcast. The play-by-play announcer and Darren Pang were fine, but the color commentator, Butch Goring, was terrible.
Apparently, he's a legend with the Islanders, but from a pure broadcasting standpoint, it sounded like he was just handed a headset and told to talk now and then. Clearly, having broadcast for the Isles, he knew about them, but there was essentially no preparation on the Blues.
I get the reasoning. TNT didn't have to pay for extra accommodations since they just used an Isles broadcaster that would've already been there due to their road trip. But he added essentially nothing and just kept asking Panger if he agreed with some random question.
Pro: Playing with confidence
We saw a return of some old problems as the game deteriorated, but it's amazing how different this team can look when they play with some confidence. My brother joked during that game that Schenn had to be thinking, "If they played like this the whole season, I'd still be here."
The team just looks different. There's more quickness, pace, decisiveness, and also power behind passes and shots.
Those things lead to better bounces. Even shots that go wide don't automatically just zoom out of the zone. Guys are in the right spots, and pucks seem to find them in better positions to make plays.
It can't be just luck. I can't see specifically what the difference is, but it's not just because a few younger players are there. There's just a different way of playing now.
Con: Staying onside
We often joke that one play can make a difference in a game, but it's not always true. More often than not, it's a series of moments that add up over the course of 60 minutes that have a larger overall impact than one singular play.
However, in this game, it pretty much boiled down to one play. If the Blues stay onside, this game ends with the home team ahead.
If St. Louis can just make that pass firmly instead of trying to feather it over the blue line, they win. If the puck just enters the zone instead of being glued to the blue line, the Blues get two points.
Instead, for the second game in a row, they get called for offside, and it costs them a goal. In this game, it cost them the game.
If you're up 4-0, the Isles pull the goalie, and they just don't get that same push to get themselves back in the game. Maybe they get one goal, but it doesn't change the outcome.
Instead, you lose that goal, New York scores shortly after, and it's a two-goal deficit instead of a four-goal difference. 3-1 quickly became 3-2, and we know how it all ended.
Con: Penalty kill
St. Louis' special teams have had a decent run, but it also cost them this game. The goals the Islanders scored were good, but statistically, this was embarrassing.
The Blues allowed two consecutive power-play goals to the worst power play in the league. The Islanders literally came into this game with the 32nd-ranked power play as far as percentage of conversions.
Overview:
Although it stinks to give up a lead and eventually lose, I still consider this game part of this team's run of good form. They didn't get the result they wanted, but at this point, it's about growing a style of play and finding some consistency.
The offense continues to click in terms of the connection with the top guys. The downside is that they couldn't generate enough consistent offense in terms of chances. Every period saw single-digit shot totals from the Blues.
The defense played well for two-thirds of the game, but the problems of positioning continued. The defenders were nowhere near the net on the Islanders' first goal, and two forwards were the closest St. Louis players to the net. Upon looking at the replay, Mailloux and Broberg went out to challenge the puck holders, so you credit their initiative, but it's just not a good look when both of your defenders are north of the hash marks and non-defensive forwards are near the goal.
Three-on-three continues to be a joke. I don't care whether the Blues won or lost; it's a dumb way to end a game. No other sport fundamentally changes the game to decide an overtime winner.
Overall, I still think this team looks better, and this was representative of the kind of games we wanted earlier in the year. Losses will always stink, but at least give us something fun to watch.