Well, that was a lot of bad.
The St. Louis Blues dropped their first game of the season in poor fashion to the Minnesota Wild, getting upset 5-0 at home against their division rival. The game featured poor bounces and misplays en route to a disappointing opening night showing at home.
However, I'm here to say it wasn't all bad.
There were pockets of good in this game that could have swung things the other direction, and while the bounces didn't fall the Blues way, there is a silver lining, and I think the team at large will be okay.
The bright spot on the team so far: the second line
Last season, the Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou line was among the better lines in all of the NHL by expected goals metrics. This season, in one game, they are off to another hot start.
The line registered an 80% xGoals percentage, which is already 8th-best in the NHL among all forward lines. Sure, it is a small sample size, and I don't know if they will continue to be the 8th best line in the NHL, but in a game of bad, they provided some good.
Schenn won 50% of his faceoffs last night (going 6 for 12), which is a baseline solid number to be at. He played his physical style of hockey and provided a nice rough edge for the Wild to go up against.
Jordan Kyrou was flying around the ice last night, showing off his impressive top speed. He generated some nice scoring chances and attempted 6 shots on the night.
Dylan Holloway played probably the best of all three, showing off his shifty stickhandling down in the offensive zone and firing off some really nice shots. Holloway impressed with his speed, defense, and offense, and looks like he's picking right up where he left off.
The second line can continue to be a strength for this team going forward, given what we saw last night. They're already up there in expected metrics as one of the best lines in the NHL by both shot attempts and xGoals, meaning the positive regression will come; it's just one game.
Reason for optimism
While the Blues on the whole had a tough night to watch, they still did a lot of things right in that game.
First, they were generating more scoring chances and shots than their opponents. The Blues couldn't get the bounces they needed to score, but they had the right game plan coming in and did execute it.
Second, as previously established, they had individual players in the top 6 all making big contributions. The expected metrics liked what the Blues did last night, as the Blues actually outscored the Wild in expected goals by a total of 3.12 to 2.6 per Money Puck.
This team had a frustrating night on many accounts, but in the long term, I expect they will rebound and be okay from this loss. The advanced metrics liked how the boys played, and I think the top 6 all passed the eye test, too. There is still plenty to get cleaned up, but overall, the Blues only experienced what will hopefully be a minor setback in a great season to come.