The St. Louis Blues have been an enigma since the Olympics ended. Similar to what happened after the Four Nations tournament, they've been one of the better teams in the league.
This has been puzzling because you then think, why was this not there the rest of the season? Well, we kind of saw that against the Washington Capitals.
The Blues have managed to make a lot out of a little, and that continued against Washington. The Blues had just one shot on goal through the first 13 minutes of the game. It's pretty hard to score when you're not hitting the net.
Despite this disparity, the Blues ended up on the board first. Working the puck east to west, they set up a quick slap shot for Jimmy Snuggerud on the left circle, and he banged one off the near post and in for a 1-0 lead.
That goal came 2:39 into the second period. That was after the Blues had a whopping four shots on goal in the first period, and the whole game only saw 12 shots in the first.
The second got a little crazy. Otto Stenberg, of all people, got into a fight. Moments after that, Tom Wilson showed what a cheap shot artist he is when he had a late hit on Snuggerud and then nearly elbowed him in the face when Snuggy gave him a little tap on the back.
St. Louis had a power play with a little over five left in the period. While they did get some chances, they didn't really test Logan Thompson that much, so the game went to the third period with a 1-0 score.
Of course, the danger of having a one-goal lead in a game with low shot totals is that any one shot could turn the tide of the game, regardless of who scored. The Blues outshot Washington early on, 3-1, but it still felt like the Caps were threatening more. The shots just ended up wide or blocked.
Still, on the other end, Snuggerud was looking for more. He hit the side of the net on a one-timer and also caught Thompson just under the mask on another whip shot.
Things got chippy near the midway point. Robert Thomas ran a pick, which resulted in an interference penalty, but he got slammed face-first into the ice and went to the locker room. They gave Pierre-Luc Dubois a five-minute major and, after review, decided it was a match penalty for intent to injure.
Then the Blues started doing Blues things. Instead of getting a three-minute power play where they could've scored at will, they got 13 seconds of that and then took a too-many-men penalty.
The four-on-four was mostly a possession game for both teams, but the Blues did start bombing away. Snuggerud unleashed a slap shot from the right circle that went off the glove, and then Colton Parayko also got two slappers - one from each wing - but neither hit the mark.
The Blues kept up the pressure as we approached the five minutes remaining mark. They went tic-tac-toe from Jonaten Berggren to Dalibor Dvorsky on the left and then Stenberg on the right side back door for a 2-0 lead.
The Capitals were buzzing on the next shift, but couldn't get one. Finally, the Blues finished it off in the final minute.
A great bit of anticipation by Jordan Kyrou knocked the puck loose near the point. He outraced everyone to the puck in the neutral zone and then tucked it into the empty net for a 3-0 Blues win.
Pro: Making the most out of a little
The Blues have made a habit of making the most out of not very much during this run of good form. It's not like the offense is just overwhelming teams.
In this game, the Blues improved as they went along. They had shot totals of four, nine, and 14 in each period. However, in their win against Vancouver, they missed the net as many times as they hit it.
Despite the misses and the lack of shots at times, the Blues managed to get three goals in each game and also get the win. Additionally, they got empty net goals in two consecutive games.
Maybe the offense isn't humming, but scorers are stepping up.
Con: Special teams
This one is about the game overall, not specifically the Blues. It was just a bad game for both teams from a special teams standpoint.
All together, both teams combined to go 0-5 with the power play. Not every power play was a full man advantage, but that contributed to it being a slop fest.
The biggest detraction in this category was the Blues absolutely throwing away a three-minute major by simple lack of communication. St. Louis had cut way back on the too-many-men calls, but just when they could've slammed the door shut on the game, they take the most bone-headed penalty possible.
Pro: Hofer
As the game went along, the Capitals' best chances usually ended up being misses. However, Hofer had to stand tall for his team in the early going.
While the Blues' defense has improved lately, they still allowed a lot of deflected pucks from close range. Those are difficult saves for any goalie, even if they're positional saves. You have next to no reaction time, so you need to read things correctly.
In addition to those saves, Hofer stopped plenty of chances with a well-placed stick of his own for some great poke checks.
It's good to have goalies like Binnington and Hofer who can play the puck, make the big saves, but also make smart plays to deny chances before they even become shots.
Overview:
Overall, this wasn't the greatest hockey game of all time. It was sloppy, sloggy, and had a lot of neutral zone plays.
It also continued an odd trend I've noticed over the last handful of years. These random games against Eastern Conference teams, that you have no rivalry with, end up being more physical and chippy than with your rivals.
It used to be the complete opposite. Rivalry games were blood baths, and games against the other conference were so bland that they were less physical than team practices at times. When or why the shift happened is anyone's guess.
This game got oddly chippy. You can expect that when playing a piece of garbage like Tom Wilson, but it was still odd when there shouldn't be any pre-existing tension between the teams.
Overall, it was just another well-played game by the Blues. They understand what their strengths are and are finally playing to them.
They're also doing those small things. Maybe they aren't lighting the scoreboard with shot totals, but they're at least taking shots instead of passing to the point they turn the puck over.
Snuggerud is looking like a guy who could put up 40 goals if he really hits his stride. His willingness to just unleash that shot and it not be a detriment is great.
In the grand scheme, the Blues are still unlikely to make the playoffs. There are just too many teams to jump over that have to drop points.
But, hopefully, this is something to build on. You're getting winning experience for the young players and putting the right veterans in positions where they can have an impact both on the ice and in the locker room.
This wasn't just a throwaway game either. Washington is trying to keep their own fading playoff hopes alive, but the Blues managed to snuff them out for the most part.
It's not a fluke at this point, but it also begs the question of why wasn't this there when the team couldn't do anything right early in the year.