Blues Gameday: 11-21-09 – Blues vs. Islanders
Game Info
Location: Scottrade Center St. Louis, MO
Game-time: 7:00 pm Central
TV: FSMW (HD)
Radio: KMOX 1120 AM
Tonight’s storyline? The Over achieving Islanders meet the under achieving Blues.
How do the Blues spend their Saturday night? Thinking of ways to stop John Tavares and Matt Moulson. The New York Islanders pay a visit to St. Louis and are looking to atone for a 3-2 loss at the hands of the Minnesota Wild Friday night. The Blues will have another chance to feast on a n opponent facing the second game of a back-to-back set.
Food For Thought
The Islanders are an “unknown” coming in to this game. Expectations this season was to be low as many fans expected them to compete for another lottery pick, not the playoffs. The Blues are no strangers to over achievement, so they should know to not take the Islanders lightly. Given the Blues less than stellar home record, I am not sure if this will be the case. Let’s just hope the Phoenix game is the “rule” rather than the “exception” in terms of work ethic and outcome.
The upstart Islanders are 18th in the NHL in goals scored per game, with 2.77. That’s roughly a half a goal per game more than the Blues who are currently 27th with 2.32. Conversely the Islanders are 19th in goals against per game, with a 2.86 average. The Blues hold the advantage here ranking 7th best with an average of 2.47 goals against per game. Who over achieves in this game? Will it be the Islanders defense or the Blues offense? I’d like to say logic says that it should be the Blues offense. Then again I anything can happen in the NHL now. All the numbers tell us here is that the Islanders score their fair share and let in their fair share. The Blues need smart puck management and reduce the amount of time Tavares and Moulson have the puck in the offensive zone.
The Islanders like to shoot the puck. They average 30.5 shots per game, good enough for 13th in the NHL. They like to give up shots as well. They have the 4th highest total of shots against per game, allowing 33.2 per game. They give up the 4th highest total on the road as well. Surrendering 34 shots against per game away from home. Which isn’t much better than the Blues who allow 30.6 shots per game, which is the 12th highest total in the league. However, on Scottrade ice the Blues average 27.8 shots against per game. All those numbers mean what? It should mean that the Blues will be able to do a good job of limiting shots against at home while playing against a team that doesn’t do a good job limiting shots in their own end.
The Blues have not won back-to-back games this season since the two opening games in Sweden vs. Detroit. How far away does that feel now? Coming home to play Atlanta for the home opener, riding high from dropping the despised Red Wings twice in come back fashion. Only to be let down opening night and several times after at home. The biggest question with this team has been consistency of performance. The work ethic from game to game has not been there for the majority of the season to start. One game is one good period, the next is two, and the next is none. If the Blues are going to win, they need to dig in to the pride and enthusiasm that they had versus Phoenix. It’s also going to help if Chris Mason stands on his head again, hopefully he won’t have to. I think Mason deserves an easy game as a reward for his hard work.
Something has to give:
The Islanders are 22nd in Road penalty killing. The Blues are 30th in Home power play. Which is going to over achieve tonight? I would like to believe that the Blues power play is more skilled in its role than the Islanders penalty kill. Then again, we’ve yet to see the skill take over and roll off multiple power play goals in a game.
Going back to the “pride and enthusiasm” the Blues need to have at home, how can you allow your power play at home to be the WORST in the NHL and be expected to win games. Those are golden opportunities to get back in a game or take it out of reach.
Difference Makers:
Paul Kariya – David Backes – TJ Oshie
This line combined for 1 goal, 2 assists and a plus-5 against the Coyotes Thursday and produced the most scoring chances. It’s a safe bet to expect the Islanders to play the match up the arrest against the David Perron, Andy McDonald, and Brad Boyes line. This should leave the Backes line free to push the tempo and pressure the Islanders like they did the Coyotes.
Player Notes:
UPDATE 5pm Central: Alex Steen will play tonight. He will skate on a line with Keith Tkachuk and Cam Janssen. Alex Pietrangelo will sit out with Daryl Sydor as Mike Weaver will dress tonight. The question now is, how long will Alex Pietrangelo sit till the Blues make a decision?
Previously posted:
Unfortunately the Blues will likely be facing Dwayne Roloson. Roloson is 9-3-1 with three ties and a 1.77 GAA all-time versus the Blues. We all remember him stealing games from the Blues in an Edmonton Oilers jersey. Let’s hope the trend doesn’t continue in an Islanders jersey. Roloson has been good this season, posting a 6-1-5 record with a 2.76 GAA and .915 Save %.
Given that the Blues have at least day off before playing Boston on Monday, I would expect to see Chris Mason get the start in net tonight.
As reported earlier this week, Blues forward Alex Steen is back early from his injured wrist. He will be expected to be available to play, but may not be playing. Earlier this week it was reported that Steen may not go back straight to his normal spot with Jay McClement and BJ Crombeen. I would imagine an announcement would be made closer to game time if Steen will actually play tonight.
Defensemen Alex Pietrangelo played in his 9th NHL game this season Thursday night versus the Phoenix Coyotes. If Pietrangelo plays in his 10th game tonight, his Entry Level Contract will kick in and the clock will start clicking. He could still be returned to his Junior League team Niagara, but why waste the time back in Juniors if his contract click is now running? I am in line with thinking he will stay in St. Louis the whole season and play in 45 to 60 games. The World Juniors are still an option with the depth the Blues have on the blue line. However, I would expect that logjam is cleared up sooner than later. Making the Alex less available for the WJC.
Who to Watch for?
John Tavares
Rookie Forward John Tavares leads the Islanders with 19 points (9g, 10a) in 22 games.
