The St. Louis Blues were once again unable to string together that elusive three-game win streak, falling to Utah. Hockey for the second time this season, 4-2. In what looks like a complete copy of the first meeting from these two back in November, the Blues were outshot, outscored, and outdone by Utah on every single level.
Let's break this one down.
Blues lose in similar fashion
Just like on November 8, the Blues were manhandled by their Central Division rival, by a score of 4-2. This time, instead of injured Dylan Guenther, it was Clayton Keller who shined bright for Utah. With a goal and three assists, he had his hand in all of the newly re-branded team's points. Talk about an individual performance.
The Blues could not get any kind of momentum outside of the first three minutes of the game. Tyler Tucker jumped onto the ice with about as much enthusiasm and grit as you could ask for out of any hockey player. He flew down and scored a goal and got in a brawl in the first 180 seconds of this game. After that, the entire team's fire just fizzled out into another outing of mediocrity.
Binnington could not keep them in it
Yes, the offense could not get any sustained pressure on Utah, as we will read about more in the last point. But goaltender Jordan Binnginton could not keep the Blues in this one, allowing three goals in the first frame. St. Louis had to once again play from behind the 8-ball very early on in the game and went into the locker room for the first intermission with. a big hole to climb out of.
Binningont got peppered with 33 shots in this one, which has been a common thing lately. The defense allows many shots to get through to Binnington, especially in the first period, which sets up the game for a quick failure.