Unacceptable?

I was listening to Chris Kerber talk during the Blues post game show, and the word unacceptable came up quite a lot.  Andy Murray has been saying it, the players have been saying it, the broadcasters and journalists have been saying it...This word means nothing.  Kerbs was discussing, for example, when parents use this word, there is some sort of consequence that follows.  What the hell then?! Stop saying, "this is unacceptable." It's obviously acceptable to play one out of three periods because I'm not seeing much of a change.

I have gone to the last two home games and will be going to my third in a row on new years eve.  I have noticed a scary trend as of late, too.  Boooooooo's! The St. Louis crowd booooo'd after that terrible first period last night.  Ever since the third period loss against the Oilers, the fans have found more and more things to boo about... Seriously, I can't believe that last night was the 8th sell out in a row. With the Blues home record looking worse and worse, I can't imagine 19,150 fans constantly coming out to ole Scottrade for much longer.

There were a lot of things the Blues did wrong and very few things they did right, last night.  Give it up to Alex Steen though, he's playing pretty solid right now.  Blind passes and failed attempts to clear the puck summed up last night's effort.  The Blues go from a solid three game sweep against western Canada, to losing three in a row, including two disappointing home games.  The Blues need another wake up call, I guess.  To finish, I just want to say that most of these guys are young professionals; key word young.  I'm going to the Blues/Vancouver on Thursday, and I hope the Blues decide to play the whole game this time.  Unacceptable? Yeah, we'll see...

Hot and Cold

That pretty much sums it up for the St. Louis Blues, thus far.  Some nights they got it and some nights they don't. However, they had it last night against Vancouver, shutting them down for the second time this season.  But, do I dare say that Larry Pleau played a role?

For those of you who did not hear, Larry Pleau (Senior VP and GM of the Blues), was waiting in the locker room after the third period of last Friday's game against Tampa Bay.  The upper management finally had to step into the picture.  The players said that it was a wake-up call/tongue lashing.  It's about time! But, it was good timing...Larry's words would stay nice and fresh in the minds of the players on their trip to Vancouver.  And what do ya know, the Blues won! I speak for myself and probably many other fans when I say that this hopefully will be the kick in the butt they needed!  Everyone needs to be reminded once in awhile of consequences...even professional athletes.

The Blues have the lowest goal scoring percentage in the league right now.  Obviously our "goal scorers" have not been "goal scoring."  But, with Backes finding the back of the net five times out of the last five games, and with Brad Winchester finally chalking one up the other night, we might be slowly meeting our potential.  Maybe?

The blame is on the players.  They are the ones on the ice, making the plays, etc.  It's up to our talent to rise to the task of succeeding in this very competitive league.  We are most certainly not out of the race, yet.  Let's not linger around .500 any longer. GET THE JOB DONE!

LET'S GO BLUES!

Playing With The Lead

Face it, the Blues do not know how to play with the lead. The win in Detroit doesn't count because there was still a sense of urgency...a sense of "oh shit, they could still come back," mentality.  Seriously, the Blues haven't had too many games where they have been up by three or more goals, including last year.  It's something in which they lack the experience.

This recent Blues team, I think thrives under pressure, which is exactly what they have been in since the second half of last season; pressure. It's like anything else, whether it be sports, work, life, whatever...You learn from your previous experiences and situations.  Having and holding a lead is something this team has not quite figured out and unfortunately has little time to learn.

Last night was probably the most devastating loss I have seen in a long time.  Even the last game of the playoffs last year was easier to swallow.

Oh, and I'm kind of sick of reporters asking the players and coaches about the Blues record at home and how they can't win at Scottrade. Last night, for two periods, that didn't matter anymore.  Even after the game, no one should have been asking why the Blues can't win at home.  Instead, they should have been asking, "What are you going to do to better your playing while in the lead?". However, now that the team has suffered this loss, it's going to be hard to recreate whatever they did to get over the pressures at home.  It seems as though they are going to have to start over once again.  Hopefully, this won't take too long...

The Final Note

Last night, T.J. Oshie hit the final note against the San Jose Sharks, giving the Blues a 3-2 win.  With 6.6 seconds left in regulation, Carlo Colaiacovo fired a turnaround snapper right into the back of the net to tie the game at two.  I jumped up off the couch and screamed in unison with my roommate, scaring the crap out of our girlfriends. I had trouble falling asleep, to say the least.

The Blues were relentless until the very end.  They stole the win right from under the Sharks. They were desperate for points and they wanted more, plain and simple.  That desperation is what made them nearly unstoppable the second half of last season. Perhaps that's what the Blues need...desperation. That just might light the fire once again...

They played and won as a team last night.  There was no star player, in my opinion.  It was a complete team effort and victory...an "ole time hockey game."

Blues, please feed off this win, please...Many people have said this win reminded them of last season's game against Boston.  That was the "turn-around" game of the season that sparked the fire.  Let this be a reminder to the team AND the fans...this team is not just built on expectation, but execution.

LET'S GO BLUES!!!

Playing all 3 Periods

The Blues have yet again shown their weakness in the first period.  We played quite well against Columbus last year and they are a team the Blues can beat, no question! Where was the aggression and the forecheck?  The game against Dallas was great.  That was "our" game from the beginning.  The forecheck was the best I've seen all year.  Hey, it reminded me a lot of last year! What do ya know?  Same with the game against Detroit, even though we let it slide at the end.  Last night was just not fun to watch in my opinion.  I really can't find any excuse why the Blues cannot bring that intensity like they had this past week. The forecheck was sooo powerful and productive.  As a fan, I might be missing something, but I do not understand why this cannot be achieved.  Some games we have it, some games we don't...unacceptable.

I can't take many positive points from this game.  However, we did score two and we stopped the number one power play team in the league.  Good job there :)

The second period was all Blues, but we kicked our legs out from under us in the third period.  Back-to-back penalties don't help much when you're down by one.  I know the Blues aren't going to win every game and I know this league is extremely competitive, "BUT" the Blues should "bring it" every game! Start hungry and finish wanting seconds.

By the way, Junland played alright. We'll see what happens with him.  As for Pietrangelo....well, we'll see what happens with him as well.