10-28-09: Blues vs Hurricanes

The St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes were two teams still trying to find themselves early in the season. The Blues have been consistently inconsistent and Carolina is struggling against an improved Eastern Conference. By games end one of the two would be a little further i figuring out who they are and the other would still be looking for answers. The Blues seemed to have all the answers tonight.

The overall effort of the Blues was much better than in previous games. Everyone seemed to be trying to get the little things right. This is one aspect that Blues fans have been criticizing Berglund, Boyes, and even David Backes on. Fans don;t mind lack of production so long as you are doing well off the puck. Last night might have been the best performance out of Berglund this season. Combine that attention to detail with hard work and you end up playing a good amount of the game in the other teams zone. In the post lock out NHL, this is arguably your best defense. I thought the Blues did a very good job of applying pressure from the center red line forward. Their forecheck might have been the best its been since the Sweden games. Kudos go to Keith Tkachuk and David Perron there.

Generally it seems Coach Andy Murray is not a fan of early fights. The two early fights by Bad Winchester and Cam Janssen seemed to help the Blues set a tone for the game. The first 5 or so minutes of the first period were just about dominated by he Canes. They exuded serious effort and were making smart plays. They looked like the 08-09 Canes and not the 09-10. The Blues got the two fights and it seemed to help them shift the momentum. To add on Janssen, I thought he played a terrific game. The big hit to free up Yan Stastny for his wicked goal. A couple of good plays to keep the play moving in the offensive zone. Cam is really starting to play hockey other than just skating to find a guy to hit or fight.

The Blues renewed their commitment to get to the net. The first Perron goal is a great example of how to get a chance, retain the puck, and get a second chance. Berglund came down the wing and put a good shot in on net. Cam Ward made a solid save and kicked the puck to the corner. However, Berglund’s perseverance paid off as he retained the puck and got it back to the net. The Blues get a juicy rebound in the middle with Berglund and Perron crashing the net. End result? A nice dirty goal by David Perron. Sadly for the Canes this is what they would see all night, Cam Ward not getting support from his defenders. Ward’s stats were horrible, but not really his fault. How much can one guy do when he is being left alone for high percentage scoring chances. Some nights its about finishing you chances and holding on to the rest.

I made a point to really follow the forwards at even strength. I kept track of plays that resulted in a positive impact or were a “good play”. Here is what I came up with.

McDonald – 6
Perron – 6
Tkachuk – 5
Backes – 5 (more due to being out there with McDonald and Tkachuk than his own play)
Crombeen – 4
Berglund – 3
Janssen – 3
McClement – 3
Stastny – 2 (He played better than just 2 plays, but two really stood out)
Winchester – 2
Kariya – 1
Boyes – 1

I am not trying to say Boyes and Kariya had horrible games. However, at even strength I saw them make fewer positive impact plays than other players. Backes really was a by product of his line tonight. I am a huge Backes fan, but he needs to be doing more. It’s getting better, but not quite there yet.

The Blues penalty killing was fairly consistent tonight. You can have slip ups, but this team is better than allowing the Canes to go 2 for 5 on the power play. The Canes passed a lot, but it didn’t esult in a lot of good chances. The goal they did get on the power play were very opportunistic. I do have Joe Corvo in my keeper league, can’t complain too much there though.

On the blueline I thought Erik Johnson was okay. Not great, but he was okay. Alex Pietrangelo is certainly looking like a top 6 NHL Defenseman. Showing some very good instincts and hockey sense. You can see its starting to creep in to his confidence, which is turning in to solid play. Kudos to the kid for taking advantage of an opportunity. Tyson Strachan did well but also had his slip ups. Strcahan and Roman Polak had similar games, make a mistake and then make up for it later. Players could make mistakes and get away with it last night due to some improved support by the Blues.

Chis Mason was again solid for the Blues. I just don’t see how people cannot like this guy. He comes up with big saves at big times and will stop the routine plays too. He isn’t as talent as Marc-Andre Fluery, but both have a similar effect on their team. Both can make the big save at the right time. Mason did that several times tonight. Early on when Polak had a bad first shift and on an odd man rush created by a Johnson. Good teams need goalies that keep them in games and give the team a chance to win. Mason did that tonight.

The lazy penalty bug is still floating around the team. Kariya caught the bug in the third period on a bad call that could have given the Canes a chance to get within one goal in the last half of the period.

Player of the night would go to Mason in my opinion for making 34 saves. Honorable mentions to Berglund and Perron who both played very well. Solid down low work in both zones, getting to the net, creating chances. Berglund’s real value to this team is that big body protecting the puck to create chances, similar to what Malkin does it Pittsburgh. Tonight he flashed some of that ability. His next challenge is to bring the same level of play to the rink for tonight’s game versus Phoenix. I cannot gush enough about Perron’s play this year. He is truly fun to watch play hockey. What a beautiful pass to McClement. Has Perron been watching reruns of the Kurt Warner lobbing passes all over the field for the “Greatest Show on Turf”?

Tonight the Blues will face Phoenix at Scottrade, starting at 7pm Central. The Blues owe the Yotes some payback for an overtime loss earlier this year. Phoenix is playing above their heads right now. Will be interesting to see how the Blues respond at home tonight after a solid road victory.