After a fantastic start under Jim Montgomery, the St. Louis Blues had hit a nasty little skid of late. They had lost three straight and five of the last six.
Although plenty of those games were close if not one-goal games, the bottom line was they lost and they started poorly. At least the Blues managed a better start against former their former rival, the Detroit Red Wings.
The game felt like it was going to take the usual poor turn. St. Louis had three odd-man rushes in the first seven minutes and were outshooting and out-chancing Detroit, but couldn't get one into the back of the net.
Initially, those rush plays made up the bulk of the Blues chances, meaning it was not sustained. However, that changed about halfway through the period, and eventually, St. Louis got one.
The Blues won a board battle on the far side and then intercepted a poor zone exit by former Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko. They then set up a blistering one-timer from Dylan Holloway from the high slot and it was 1-0.
Although it took a while for St. Louis to strike in the first, the same would not be true in the second. 18 seconds in, the Blues broke into the zone with speed and Alexandre Texier looked to pass and then whipped a wrister off the post and in for a 2-0 lead.
Good hustle and zone pressure added yet another goal about eight minutes into the period. Colton Parayko purposely shot wide into the end boards where the puck was picked up by Brayden Schenn. The confusion drew the Detroit players out of position, which left Holloway alone for another goal, this time coming from the deep slot and a 3-0 score.
It could have, and perhaps should have, been 4-0, 13 minutes in. The Blues set up a two-on-one, but Robert Thomas didn't get the shot up high, which allowed Cam Talbot to make a miraculous sliding save.
About two minutes later, Jordan Binnington repaid the favor. He denied a one-timer from the right circle with a sliding glove save of his own. Oddly, it was only his seventh save of the night.
The Blues got a little too complacent in the third. They got some early looks but became too unselfish as Jordan Kyrou tried to force a pass to Holloway for the hat trick instead of taking the clear shot on an odd-man rush.
Detroit made a solid push, outshooting the Blues 7-2 through 13 minutes. It looked like they would get a power play after a potential high stick, but upon review, it was Mathieu Joseph's skate that came up and caught the guy in the chin. The Red Wings were extremely fortunate it was the boot of the skate instead of the blade or that could have been disastrous.
The Blues kept their eye on the prize however and eventually did get the hatty for Holloway. Detroit pulled the goalie with a little over four minutes left and the Blues sprung a set play off the defensive zone faceoff.
When St. Louis won the puck back to Parayko, he hesitated only a moment and then blasted it down the ice. Holloway had taken off down the ice as soon as the puck was won, so he was in behind all the defenders, caught the puck off the end wall, and deposited it into the empty net for a 4-0 score.
The Blues would hold on for that to be the final score. That gets them back to .500 before Christmas with three games after the holiday and before New Year's.
Pro: Binnington
This game was more a good game for Binnington than a good game by Binnington if you catch my meaning. He wasn't called on too often, until the third period, but it was a confidence builder.
Whether you're a Binny hater or a supporter, like myself, it was hard to argue that the body language wasn't great during his last few losses. Even when he was the sole reason the Blues got a point, it just didn't look like he had that same swagger to him.
It wasn't completely back in this game, but he was solid. That diving save he made in the second period really seemed to spring him back to himself.
In the end, it doesn't matter if the opponent was poor or the goalie was hot. He got a shutout - his second of the season - and an important win for the team.
Con: Third period lull
When you're up a decent amount in any sport, it's easy to let your foot off the gas. The hard part is turning it back on.
Fortunately, the Blues never had to rev it back into high gear. They only needed to get their heads out of their rears.
The unselfishness early gets a pass. I understand you're trying to set up a guy for his first career hat trick, but it needs to come naturally. If you, i.e. Kyrou, have a clear shooting lane, don't pass it back into traffic. Take the shot and let Holloway look for the rebound.
Detroit is a semi-decent team, so you expected the push. The disappointing part was this was a typical Blues finish where they just didn't push back. You end up with 21 total shots after having 10 in the first and only getting four in the third. Not good enough, regardless of the final.
Pro: Holloway
We were all singing Philip Broberg's praises early in the season, and rightfully so. However, it cannot be overlooked that Holloway may be equally as good a steal.
Granted, a hat trick will inflate your stats, but the bottom line is Holloway vaulted himself into third place on the team in scoring and second in goals. These weren't garbage goals either.
The first one was just a rip of a slapshot. Not only was it a great shot, but the fact he was all but demanding the puck in that situation shows his in-game awareness.
His second goal came down to positional awareness. He had the wherewithal to get to the slot, regardless of what the defense was doing. Holloway also made sure to get the puck up high to not blow the unguarded shot right into the goalie.
The third may have been an empty net goal, but it still demanded great effort. Even though Patrick Kane is older, he still has some wheels, so Holloway had to get on his horse to get in behind and also track the puck the entire way.
It's not just the three goals on this night either. Holloway now has nine goals out of his 12 since November 27.
Overview:
This is one of those confusing wins that you just accept and don't think too hard about. If you overanalyze, you wonder if it's a good win or simply a team you should beat.
We've reached the point where you can't figure out the Blues are better than anyone, regardless of record, so you take it as a solid performance. However, the flaws of the Red Wings were on full display.
St. Louis didn't get a power-play goal, but you could tell why the Wings have one of the worst penalty kills in the league. Like the Blues, Detroit has struggled to score of late and we saw why.
I made a joke during the game, but it was true - this was like watching the Blues, but from the other side. The turnovers, the lack of shots, and the overall lackluster play by Detroit is something we've seen from our team a lot this season.
It was nice to be on the other end of it for once. So, in the end, you take from it what you want.
You can easily say it was just the Blues taking advantage of a struggling team and you'd be right. However, St. Louis has failed to do that much of this season and much of the last couple years, so take the win.
You can also say they got the offense churning, got a shutout, and played an overall sound game. That would also be correct.
Either way, you slice it, it's two points and heading into the brief holiday break on a good note. The Blues need more wins and soon, especially with the Winter Classic on the horizon, but you take each game as it comes.