Recap 01-08-09: San Jose & Anaheim

Due to work issues, the games being late at night and back to back it was much easier to group these two together. Looking back on it, its also an interesting two games to compared.

They felt like polar opposites to me. The San Jose game was full of end to end action, lots of chances, and lots of big saves. The Anaheim game was 35 minutes of Anaheim domination followed by 10-15 minutes of Blues domination, then collapse. One common theme, Chris Mason was pretty darn good.

San Jose

This was the opening statement that the team wanted to give new Head Coach Davis Payne. The Blues were shot out of a cannon working hard from whistle to whistle. They skated up and down the ice with a much better Sharks team. The Blues matched the physical level the Sharks brought and pushed their own agenda as well. Working hard to go quickly north and get the puck behind the red line to turn the defensemen around.

The newly reformed Kid Line was the best at this all game. Consistently making the quick decision to get the puck up ice and support each other. All three seemed to take Payne’s words to heart, go forth and create…and create they did. They executed the plays in tight quarters and got pucks to the net. Maybe the biggest factor was hemming the puck in the zone for a full shift. High level teams like San Jose thrive off making you play in your own end. When you can find was to flip the tables and do that back to them, you have a real chance at points. The trio combined for 5 Shots 3 Hits, and 7 Takeaways.

What I can’t get over is the team game played. Everyone seemed to be on the same page for the first time in a very long time. They were a cohesive 5-man unit. The support was solid and the quick passes up ice were the best they’ve been all season. The stretch is nice, but when you can move five guys up ice with speed because of a well executed quick medium to short pass….you almost don’t need the stretch. The body movement was excellent as few times players just stopped moving. There was little to no watching and reacting. There was proactive movement and reacting to the play as it developed. While those are very hard ideas to give a real feeling to or provide stats to prove, you can just see in their game play that they knew their job and how to execute with out being told how to do it. The level of freedom and trust ran high and it produced results.

Mason has stopped 67 of his last 72 hots faced, a .930 Save %.

Let’s not forgot the amazing play of Chris Mason AND Evgeni Nabakov. The two combined to stop 70 of 73 total shots on goal. Both goalies made the big and simple save. None may be more comical than Nabakov standing up and stacking the pads together to stop an Andy McDonald scoring chance. Nabakov stacked them more than once as well. Kudos to both goalie. Both were and deserved to be stars of the game.

In the end it was an Alex Pietrangelo type play that ended the Blues chances for two points. McDonald did a nice job dangling the offensive zone and when he circled around the near faceoff circle to shoot, Dany Heatley was right there to block the shot, break it up ice and score an Overtime breakaway winner. While the game ended in disappointment there were some great strides made and some strong building blocks to take a few hours south in Anaheim. Really though, the Sharks are who they are and have the point totals they do for a reason. They are just that good. Oh, and Andy McDonald continued his goal scoring streak. Stretching to three goals in three straight games. It was a very odd goal with Nabakov out of the net falling all over Blues players, but it ended up in the net cleanly. Too bad that was the only Blues goal.

Anaheim

All the hard work and momentum did not carry over. I understand it was the second game of a back to back set and the Blues lost a tough one going all out. However, this team is directly competing for points for playoff spot against Anaheim. This is the type of game where you need to open more than a 1 goal lead. You need better forward movement and pressure. For the first 35 minutes of the game, it simply wasn’t there.

The Blues caught a break to open the scoring. While shorthanded BJ Crombeen works the puck down ice to create pressure and force a rare faceoff at the other end of the ice. McClement wins the draw as Jackman steps up to slap home a hot past Jonas Hiller’s right ear. It was a great shot and a nice goal to try to get off their sluggish start.

Even though he Blues did a better job of keeping Anaheim to the outside, they were never really able to break pressure. Over long stretches teh Blues could barely get the puck 10 feet inside the Ducks blueline trying to get a chance. There were few chances to get the puck deeper and set up a play. In my opinion this was due to Payne’s increased dependence on match-ups. Specifically the attempts made to get the McClement Line and the Jackman-Polak pair out against Getzlaf and Perry. In a game where a team can struggle to get their legs moving, playing the match up card that hard hurts a teams ability to get in to the flow of the game. In my opinion this is the turning point. Getzlaf and Perry worked to create pressure sift after pressure shift, rolling with just one break in between shifts. The Blue shad no answer other than to contain and survive. Which they did, but by that point valuable time to create their own scoring chances had passed away.

I like that the defenders continued to step up on the attacker…when they did i. I know Eric Brewer is afraid to get burned to the outside by Bobby Ryan, but that play cannot happen. That shot can not get off between his legs and go past Mason. I know Brewer is containing, but you ave to play the body when you get a chance. Brewer kept backing up and gave Ryan the daylight needed. Was Brewer horrible all game? No, but that one play is hard to overlook since it tied the game in the third after Jackman’s second goal.

Jackman scored his first two goals of the season last night in peculiar fashion. Image via blues.nhl.com.

What a pinball play that second Jackman goal was. Backes works for the puck and gets it to Jackman. Hiller is square to him with not much if any screening. The puck bounces off one player out high  and then off Ryan Whitney to Hiller’s right. Two bounces later, the Blues took the 2-1 lead. Sadly the Blues failed to capitalize on a weak goal on Hiller to add in another goal to extend the lead. Good teams find ways of doing that. The Blues just can’t lately. Th Ducks answered with the afore mention Ryan goal.

I have to say I am disappointed that the blatant Getzlaf knee to knee on Jackman was not called. I know Getzlaf plays on an edge. I love skill guys who can do that. However, that play has to be called. It’s obvious….at least those of us watching on TV. Bottom line here is the Blues couldn’t put in a 2 goal lead and it cost them the game on a fluky play. The Blue shad only 12 shots on goal through two periods. Just aren’t going to score enough goals to win games that way. Not when you give up as many third period goals as the Blues do.

Hiller…not so good but rarely tested. Mason, was good and on, but was hung out to dry in the James Wisniewski, Matt Beleskey, and Ryan goals. Screens , broken plays, and masterful shots did him in.

The Good After Two Games

- When players are moving, the whole 5-man unit is moving.
- Good support leading to sustained offensive zone pressure when they can get the puck deep.
- Improved goaltending by Mason.
- Defensemen jumping in to the play and being backed up.
- The penalty kill still has the mojo.
- Improved effort to break up and contest plays with the stick.
- Increased physical play by Erik Johnson

The Bad After Two Games

- Failure to convert pressure in to goals.
- One power play conversion in eight opportunities.
- Inconsistent effort from game to game.

This team is still a work in progress. We saw the high end of what we will get in the San Jose game. We saw the low end in the Anaheim game. The Blues will filter out  somewhere between the two under Payne this year. I know this team wants the playoffs, but another miracle run is likely not in the works. Payne needs to maximize the growth of younger players while keeping the veterans producing to keep this team competitive. Which is our most realistic best case scenario.

Next up is LA on Saturday night. If the Blues can salvage a win against LA they can take 50% of the point on the trip. It’s not much, but it’s a start.