The St. Louis Blues hoped to wash the horrible taste from their mouth after another embarrassing loss in Chicago. Doing it against a Utah team that owns the Blues was not going to be an easy task.
In terms of effort, things were good for the Blues right off the get-go. St. Louis had a good start again, including some physicality and even a fight for Alexey Toropchenko.
However, like in Chicago, the start didn't matter. Despite outshooting the Utah Mammoth 13-6, the Blues finished the first period down 1-0. Nick Schmaltz knocked in Clayton Keller's rebound for the goal at 15:10.
The Blues had a strange second period. As is typical, they got outshot and didn't have a ton of shots, with the difference being six to nine in terms of shots for and against.
Nevertheless, the Blues scored two goals in the period. Unfortunately, they were down two goals each time they did score.
At 7:45 of the second period, Dalibor Dvorsky had a drop pass picked off, and the Mammoth scored on the transition play to make it 2-0. However, the Blues answered 10 seconds later.
The fourth line had pressure to steal the puck back on the forecheck. Then, Nathan Walker fed Oskar Sundqvist on the circle, and he wired a shot past the blocker to make it 2-1.
The next goal came for Utah after a faceoff win in the Blues' zone. A couple of quick shots got the defense scrambling and flat-footed, which left Sean Durzi wide open to put it into an empty net for a 3-1 score.
Pavel Buchnevich made it 3-2 at 16:27. Ironically, the goal came with the Blues up six-on-five due to a delayed penalty, and they buzzed passes around and created the chance with precision and confidence, which is something that never happens on the power play itself.
Special teams proved to be the name of the game as Utah sealed the contest with a power play goal at 6:57 of the third period. The Blues got some chances throughout the period and had a decent push at the end, but Utah played it well down the stretch. St. Louis had a late power play, but as usual, couldn't capitalize on it, and it was already a two-goal differential at that point.
St. Louis lost by that 4-2 score.
Con: Special teams
For the second game in a row, special teams was the difference in the game. Maybe the Blues still lose, but the reason they lost for sure was special teams.
If Utah doesn't score that power play goal, it is 3-2 down the stretch, and you can just play with a different edge knowing the next goal could tie the game instead of making it a one-goal deficit. Additionally, the defending on the penalty kill was weak too, as both defenders react to the pass to the goal line, and then both forwards are flat-footed on the pass to the slot for the goal.
Meanwhile, the power play continues to be unabashedly poor. It went 0-4, and even though one of the power plays was short-lived due to a Blues penalty, it didn't matter. They really didn't even threaten the goal.
The power play continues to be unbelievably predictable, allowing defenses to challenge as though they had the extra man.
Pro: Top line goal
If we focus on this one play, they looked like a top line for an NHL team. The passing was quick, decisive, focused, and accurate.
The finish for Pavel Buchnevich was strong. It was the kind of goal you expect from a forward who was brought in for his scoring and fitting of the contract he currently has.
Points and goals from your top players continue to be a problem, but getting them on the score sheet here was good. Buch had the goal, while Robert Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud picked up assists. It was also timely, which is important since you don't want your top guys just getting points in junk time.
Con: Top guys overall
While I give them credit for scoring to make the game interesting, the reality is that the top line didn't have enough impact on the game. Win or lose, the Blues are essentially relying on their fourth line to score, or they won't have any goals.
Thomas had a point, but had 0 shots. Buchnevich had the goal, but only had two shots on goal.
Jake Neighbours needs to be a scoring threat, and he had one shot. Jordan Kyrou had three shots, and Snuggerud had five shots. At least those last two could claim they're contributing, even if goals didn't go in.
The rest of your top guys just aren't doing enough. They aren't scoring, they aren't tiring out defenses, and they aren't doing enough to counteract any game plan employed against them.
Overview:
This game just puts even more of a stink on the Chicago game. The Blackhawks game was just one you had to win, and you didn't even come close.
It was right there for the taking, and once the Blues let it slip, it just fell into a chasm. When the Blues lost that game, they put themselves in a hole.
Winning against Utah/Phoenix has been tough for St. Louis in a vacuum. Losing to Chicago, especially the way you lost, forced you to NEED to win in Utah to turn things back around.
Instead, now you've put yourself in a spot where losing a game that was 50/50 at best gives you a two-game losing streak. You have a statistically high chance of losing three games in a row with a late-night contest in Vegas the next day, too.
As far as this game went, the Blues actually played pretty well. They played the way they did in the first half of the Chicago game for longer stretches, but still can't get things done.
The special teams are literally killing any shot for this team. If the game doesn't stay five-on-five the entire time, the Blues pretty much have no chance to win right now.
I just don't know what this team can do differently. Jim Montgomery was happy with the overall performance of the team, and they had improved overall, but there is just no room at all for moral victories.
You cannot win games by only scoring two goals. You cannot win games consistently by allowing four or more goals.
The Blues regularly do both. They're rarely perfect, but the ironic thing is they don't need to be.
We've seen in several of their wins that if they just played passible defense and score, or at least pressure more, they can beat some good teams. They've beaten playoff teams like Vegas and Montreal recently. St. Louis has the goaltending to steal wins if they give them enough support, either offensive or defensive.
When it becomes a special teams battle, or there's just too many breakdowns in front, this team has no chance at all.