The St. Louis Blues gained some points on their extended road trip, but they really needed a win against the New Jersey Devils to not feel bad how the overall trip went. However, this was not the same Devils we've seen the last few years as they came into the game just a point out of first place in their division.
Nevertheless, St. Louis managed to get the first goal of the game yet again. That hasn't mattered much lately, but it's better than not.
Cam Fowler picked up his first of the season 2:16 into the period. It was actually a tough angle, somewhat close to the outter hashmarks, but it proved why you put pucks on net.
Timo Meier tied it up around the 11-minute mark. St. Louis had been relying too much on Jordan Binnington, but there wasn't anything he could do as Meier spun off the defender, got open as the defense was watching the puck and the rebound went right to him for an easy score.
Despite the lack of offense, the Blues managed to earn a power play after a good penalty kill. With the PP dwindling down, Robert Thomas held for space on the top of the circle and then wired one into the short side upper corner.
This game continued to show that things just don't seem to swing the Blues way this season. Overall, it may have been the best second period for St. Louis this season, but they still couldn't hold the lead.
St. Louis was 14 seconds away from killing off a penalty, but the bounce went the Devils way again. Binnington got a piece of the first puck, but it went right to Nico Hischier who held long enough and then used the reach to tuck it around Binnington to tie things 2-2.
The Blues played a decent third period, but wasted too many opportunities. The best was another double-minor power play given just two minutes into the period. You've got fresh ice and rested players, but the Blues couldn't get anything from it.
St. Louis actually outshot the Devils 9-4 in the third period, but they just can't find the finishes in key moments right now. Once the game went to overtime, we all knew what the result would be, even if we're trying to be positive.
The Blues never got the puck back. Broberg got stuck on the ice for 2:40, but the Blues did get the puck out for a change. The Devils came back in with speed, Hischier took it around the net and Cam Fowler lost coverage of the back side, so it was a backdoor one-timer that won it 3-2 for the Devils.
Con: Double-minor
As fans, we often only see our team in a vacuum. Plenty of times, we fail to realize there is another team out there that's doing things that disrupt what the Blues are trying to do.
However, even with that in mind, the reality is that a team playing well finds ways to take advantage of mistakes by other teams, including penalties. St. Louis almost always fails to do that.
How many times this year has the Blues either negated a power play with a penalty or failed to score on a five-on-three or gotten nothing from an extended power play? I don't have a numerical answer, but it feels like a good amount.
As a glass half full person, I can give the power play props that they looked more energetic and slightly more dangerous. The bottom line is that they gave the Devils too much momentum by not scoring on the double minor.
When you have four consecutive minutes of power play time and really don't even wear out the defense, you've not done your job.
Pro: Points from the right guys
I'm likely reaching with this, but the Blues got points from guys they really need to get going and play better. Even with a loss, if they can subconsciously feel better about their offensive game, maybe it's a small step to build on.
Cam Fowler has had a gigantic mixed bag this season, with much of it being bad. Even as he's aged, he's still been an offensive threat. Getting his first goal as the season is about a quarter gone is late, but welcome.
Logan Mailloux has had a rough start to his career, but the stint in the AHL seems to have helped some of his confidence. He got his first assist of the season and also looked good on a couple rushes up ice.
Thomas picked up a goal that will hopefully get him going a bit, Fowler also picked up an assist and Pavel Buchnevich picked up a power play assist. I'm not sure what the coaches see from Buch to keep sending him out there, but he got a point.
Pro: Binnington
The Devils didn't pepper the Blues net as they only had 29 total shots. The percentage of those that were quality shots was high though.
Binnington played more than well enough to get the win. He couldn't do anything about any of the goals and made several saves at key moments that should have given his team a boost.
The rest of the Blues didn't manage to step up for their goaltender. He stepped up for them and stole them at least a point.
Overview:
I still hate three-on-three. I will continue to bring that up every time it happens, even if the Blues manage to eventually win one.
This season continues to be beyond frustrating. I don't have a clue what this team needs to do.
They scored the first goal for the ninth time in 10 games. They lost.
St. Louis went to overtime for the seventh time this season, meaning they're getting points. They've lost all seven.
They got good enough goaltending to win, but they didn't. They played one of their best second periods of the season, but didn't score and allowed one in that 20 minutes.
The first period saw them have two leads, but they handed the Devils so many grade-A looks by looking like a beer league team with their turnovers. Even when things go well, there's next to no confidence by this roster.
Right now, they're incapable of having fun. Even if it's a job, sports are supposed to be fun and right now it just looks like something they're getting paid to do.
Hopefully they can mentally reset during American Thanksgiving and come out for a Friday afternoon game. If nothing else, end a game in regulation where there's still a little suspense. An overtime game is an automatic loss at this point.