Montre-Fall

The Canadians fell to the Blues last night even after coming back in the last ten minutes of the game to tie it at three. It scared me a little, because like many other Blues' fans, ya knew that third goal was coming... The Canadians pulled their goalie giving them the advantage. Shortly there after, they scored off a deflection that looked like a high stick, but whatever. Unfortunately, the Blues let another third period lead go stale, but won after a top shelve rocket from Andy McDonald in overtime. The Blues have got to keep their momentum going and stop falling back on their heals in the last period. They started the third period fairly strong, but when you have a two goal lead, you have got to protect it and stay strong.

Which brings me to my next couple of points. The first goal by Montreal was nothing but a fluke! There was a collision in the Canadians end where Carey Price (Canadians Goalie) came way out of the crease to retrieve a puck. Cam Janssen was coming up the boards to also retrieve the puck. Now, if a goalie wants to exit the crease for a puck and takes away the boards or an area for the opposing player to pass by, what do you think is going to happen? Oh, I know! You are going to get knocked on your ass! If you watch the replay, both players meet at exactly the same time and Janssen extends his left arm using his stick to try and retrieve the puck. He sure as hell didn't go out of his way to hit Price and didn't even drop his shoulder. Where was Janssen supposed to go? Not only do I think that Janssen's penalty was flawed, Price not getting a penalty was even worse. For crying out loud, he took his glove and blocker off like he was going to fight him!!! I'm pretty sure that deserves something...

REPLAY

Besides that and some lackadaisical playing in the end of the third, I was really pleased. The Blues forechecked, backchecked, battled, and really controlled most of the game. They have got to keep bringing this energy and passion throughout the rest of the year. We are only six points out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference.  There is no doubt in my mind that if the Blues can continue this kind of playing, they will make it to the playoffs.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Phoenix, Nashville, and Dallas slowly slide down the standings.

As for tonight against Ottawa...With our away record and the momentum from last night's win, I think the Blues can take away their home advantage and break Ottawa's winning streak. Who's with me?!!!



LET'S GO BLUES!

A Clean Sweep

First of all, I would like to thank Davis Payne, the new coach of the St. Louis Blues.  You have allowed the players to find a sense of composure again and in doing so, brought a new face to the Blues home game. I'm not saying that Murray didn't have way's to win, but the Blues have brushed off the negativity and pressure and have decided to play some pretty good hockey under the new leadership of Payne.

Awesome fight from last year against the Rangers...There you go Cam!

I was reading an article my Dad spotted in the Post. It discussed Oshie's struggles and gave some insight on why the Blues just couldn't get the job done in previous games.  Oshie felt that his inconsistencies were a big problem.  A major contributor to those inconsistencies, was negative feedback from the coaching staff.  Now, obviously the coaches have to tell their players what they are doing wrong, but the Blues needed a little more than constructive criticism. All said and done, the majority of these players are young and they are going to make mistakes.  But players like Oshie are so talented and the one thing you want to make sure they are doing, is having fun. Experienced veteran players play the game composed and controlled and they can make the game look easy. This Blues team know's how to win, but it's the coach's responsibility to make sure the players don't make the game too complicated. That's vital, especially when you're dealing with a young struggling team.

I've been to the last couple of games at Scottrade, and let me say that it has been wonderful seeing the Blues win at home. It makes that cold walk back to the car a little less numbing.

Just a Glimpse

The Blues showed us, yet again, a glimpse of their potential.  The first period of last night's Blues/Blackhawks bloody battle was a flash of some good old time hockey.  I'm pretty sure I was on the edge of my seat the entire first twenty minutes.  But, all good things come to an end, I guess.  There was no way the Blues could match the intensity of the first period and neither could the Hawks.  The difference was that the Hawks settled down and played a controlled, composed game while the Blues, well...fell back into some familiar bad habits.

Missed shots, blind passes, and many failed attempts of clearing the puck...Man, I'm tired of saying that.  Even though the Blues could not catch the Hawks, they had some great scoring opportunities.

The following are some problems the Blues are having (in my opinion):

The power-play - Ok, it's getting better, but not every goal has to be pretty. Spread out, keep your head up, and make crisp, dedicated passes.  Also, use the one-timer! Five on Four is supposed to be an advantage!   Ya know what else helps? A lot of other teams do it too...Get in front of the net! This goes for full strength play as well. Hey defenders, don't carry the puck from blue-line to blue-line and try to force a pass or make a move.  Dump it in and reduce the odd man rushes in our end.  And forwards, where's the forecheck?! It sometimes makes an appearance, but we got to win battles in the corners.

Now, I'm going back to the whole getting in front of the net "thing."  We have some capable big bodied forwards on this team. Backes, Berglund, Winchester, and Tkachuk. Backes has great hands and needs to screen and wreak havoc for the opposing goalies. Berglund, stop being a sissy and use your body.  We all know you can shoot, but I don't even know if you're capable of a penalty. Winchester, has proven himself in some of the recent games.  He might not have the stick handling skill of Backes or Berglund, but he covers a lot of ground and can pose a threat in front of the net.  Tkachuk has a good reputation around the net. He needs to just keep doing what he's doing and retire on a good note.

We'll see what these next couple of practices will do for the Blues. With the new leadership of Davis Payne, it's all up in the air. What I hope to see is a simpler game at home and a newfound respect for the fundamentals of hockey.