Recap 01-14-10: Blues vs. Wild

Due to a rather debilitating run in with a stomach bug in the last 24 hours, this will be a quick and dirty recap.

Blues win 1-0 over Minnesota to win their third straight and second straight in the House of Payne.

The Blues out shot the Wild 28 to 9 through two periods and 37 to 19 overall. Remember what I said in the Gameday about shots on goal? This is only the second time the Blues have topped 30 shots on goal since Payne took over.

This was a game that would have gotten away under Murray. A tired team travels in to St. Louis and neither team can find the net. The road team hangs around and gets a win in the third. Under Payne, that doesn’t seem to be a worry. The Blues are working hard in the third period, still pushing for a goal to widen their lead. The FSMW guys say this a lot, but the Blues do a good job of forcing the other team to play a 200 foot game. Minnesota didn’t have the legs to out work the Blues.

If not for Josh Harding stopping 36 of 37 shots, the Wild had no chance. You can see why Minnesota wanted top value in return for Harding during summer trade talks. They guy can play.

Few fans talk about Mike Weaver, but how good is this guy? He had 6 blocked shots, a takeaway and numerous zone clears. He came in to St. Louis as a journeyman traveler, no better than a 7th defensemen. Over the last two seasons he has developed in to a safe and steady 3rd pairing penalty killing specialist. I could see a team taking a chance on him as a UFA this summer to fill that 6th man gap, but I would love to see him stay in St. Louis.

Lots of people have complained about Brad Boyes (myself included). There is no room to complain since Davis Payne came on board. Boyes has done a 180 flip in terms of his effort and compete level. It appears Payne has put him out there with reliable Alex Steen and Jay McClement in an effort to get his work ethic up and his confidence back. So far it is working. He is working for pucks more and trying to get in to open areas for scoring chances. The points (and goals) will come back.

I love the physical edge this game had. Especially a bloodied nose Backes laughing in James Sheppard’s face. Was the Oshie play a slew foot? Some seem to suggest that. Looking at it twice, I didn’t see one.

I was a little concerned with Winchester dropping off of the Patrik Berglund line with David Perron, but it seemed to work out ok. Andy McDonald got his legs working better as the game went along. Kudos to Berglund for keeping the high level of play up. Keep the power moves to the middle coming. Perron also had multiple nice moves down low to get open and get to the net. As far as David’s new visor? I think he needs a pair of white skates to go along with it.

Chris Mason was solid even though his work level was extremely sporadic for 2/3 of the game. He was fresha and ready in the third stopping all ten Wild shots. For as good as Guillaume Latendresse had been in the few Wild games I’ve seen since he was acquired, he wasn’t so effective in this game. Martin Havlat had chances but couldn’t finish them.

Speaking of Finish…I like that Backes had a little run in with Mikku Koivu who will play for Finland in the Olympics.

How fun is it to watch TJ Oshie play? Every time I see him make a sweet play or back heck hard, I see another late first rounder, Mike Richards.  I just hope TJ doesn’t turn in to a head hunter. TJ netted the game winner on a nice shot around the defender and across Harding’s body up high. Looked more like an NHL10 goal than a real life NHL goal.

Next up for the Blues is the New York Rangers lead by a healthy Marian Gaborik. Coming in tonight’s action he was tied for 3rd in the NHL with 28 Goals.

Blues Player of the Game

TJ Oshie

TJ notched the Game Winning Goal in the Third Period (We've heard that before). He also worked tirelessly in all three zones.