GameBlog 02-13-10: Blues vs Caps
Washington Capitals
vs.
St. Louis Blues
Pregame
The Blues face possibly their toughest task of the season tonight as the the best offensive team in the league rolls in to Scottrade when the Blues played the night before. The Washington Capitals nearly set an NHL record recently with 14 consecutive victories. In that run they scored 67 goals, a 4.78 Goals For/Game average. The Caps scored less than four goals only twice in that stretch.
The Capitals are the new breed of hockey team. Their emphasis is on offensive zone time and goal production. They roll three lines capable of scoring goals at any given point. Their defense is serviceable, but not spectacular in terms of shutting down their opponent. Their goaltending is there to make the right save at the right time, not stand on his head all night. This kind of team is rare. Few teams have drafted (and successfully developed) so many players who can produce and know the system from the ground up.
Most fans know Ovechkin, Green, Backstrom, and Semin. They are possibly the most offensively gifted core of any team in the league. However, most fans don’t know Fleischmann, Fehr, Knuble, and Laich. Those four have combined for 74 Goals in 210 combined Games. That’s an average of about 29 goals per player over 82 games. As a team the Caps have 240 Goals in 61 games, or 3.93 Goals For/Game. On the road the Caps average 3.83 Goals For/Game. Bottom line is the Caps score from anywhere, anytime, in any situation.
The one consolation for the Blues is that the Caps give up goals. To the tune of over three (3.09 GA/Game) per game on the road.
Which tells Blues one thing. Play smart, sure, and quick.
Pucks MUST go in deep.
Bodies MUST be taken on the boards.
Every play warrants a second and third effort.
Cover all lanes.
Forwards backcheck hard and quickly.
No questionable pinches.
I think the greatest challenge for the Blues will be dealing with the Caps ability to create offensive zone pressure off of turnovers. As we saw in the Toronto game last night, the Blues are still prone to mental breakdowns at their own blue line. Decision making was bad at times from several players…including some who know better and play better. There cannot be lazy turnovers at the end of the defensive zone or the start of the offensive. Pucks will have to go over the line completely and progress forward. Otherwise the Caps will take the puck, turn up ice and kill you with speed in transition.
I would pay particular attention to the pairing of Mike Weaver and Carlo Colaiacovo (assuming Payne keeps them together). Weaver is smaller and Carlo is prone to turnovers and getting caught up ice. That is where a Fleischmann, Fehr, or even Brenden Morrison can take the puck on a turnover and create chances that other teams 2nd and 3rd line can’t.
I wouldn’t discount the defensive play of David Backes and TJ Oshie in this game. I would hazard to guess Payne will try to use the big body of Backes against the Caps top unit of Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble. Oshie will also be extremely important making smart plays to deny time and space to Backstrom. No one is going to totally stop that line, but you can limit their time and space. My only concern…will we see SIX Interference penalties again? Last night was horrendous in terms of soft interference calls. The Blues cannot afford to put the Caps on the power play by taking bad penalties.
So now that I’ve done the doom and gloom. Let’s be positive. The Blues need a season defining game. Well, they’ve had several, but all were faltering points. Tonight is a chance to cap off a very up and down section of the season. Through it all, should the stars align…the Blues coould be TWO POINTS BACK of 8th place in the West. Yes folks, that’s right. Two Points Back.
Scoreboard Watching
Ottawa @ Detroit – Come on SENS!
Dallas @ Phoenix – Need a regualtion win by Phoenix
Anaheim @ Calgary – HUGE GAME. Anaheim is two pointsback of 8th place Calgary.
Should the teams in bold above win without Overtime and the Blues beat the Caps…the Blues will be 2 points behind Anaheim for the 8th spot in the West. In my opinion, this game and the others tonight decide buyer vs. seller over the next two weeks.
Line Up Notes:
Mason did not skate at the morning skate, Ty Conklin was on the ice. Sounds like Mase gets the start. I woudl assume that Payne does not alter his line up, save for the return of Tkachuk (which likely means Janssen doesn’t play). When I can find confirmation on line ups, I will come back and update the blog.
The Caps have recalled Defensemen and WJC Gold Medal Winner John Carlson from Hershey of the AHL. Chris Bourque was sent down to even up their roster. Carlson is eligible to play tonight.
—————
Line-Up Update | 3pm CST:
Per Lou Korac the line-up stays as is. Walt is not coming back for tonight’s game.
Kariya-Backes-Oshie
McDonald-Berglund-Perron
Steen-McClement-Crombeen
Winchester-Boyes-Janssen
Jackman-Polak
Brewer-Johnson
Colaiacovo-Weaver
Mason in net.
—————
Links:
Jeremy Rutherford’s Preview from St. Louis Post Dispatch
Norm Sanders Article at BND.com
STLToday Blues Forum Gameday Thread
Dan O’Neill Article from St. Louis Post Dispatch
Steve Hindle – Caps Blogger @ Hockeybuzz.com
Lou Korac’s Gameday Blog
See you all at the game. It should be an entertaining one. This will be my first chance to see Ove in person…I can’t stand the guy, but I can’t wait to see what he does.
Recap
Season defining game…
Blues fans had every reason to be concerned coming in to the Scottrade Center tonight. The Blues coming back on the second day of a back to back set against the strongest offensive powerhouse in the NHL. Three other impact games were on the docket this evening, with the potential to set the Blues back to six points behind the 8th place pace. What did the Blues fans get? They got a hell of an up and down game…and a Shootout winner. Season saved?
The Blues struck first when Patrik Berglund banged in his 9th of the season from Polak and Jackman. The Caps Mike Knuble answered less than two minutes later to tie the game at 1-1. Both goals came after a lengthy delay following the Cam Janssen hit on Matt Bradley. Quintin Laing came over and instigated a fight with Janssen. The end result was 19 minutes for Laing and 20 minutes for Janssen. I do question the 5 minute Major for Interference. I didn’t get a clear look at the play, but that is a penalty rarely called. Other games I may not question it, but the officiating was so bad the last two games we have to question it. That said, Janssen rarely plays more than 3-4 minutes a game anways, there was no real change in how Payne rolls his lines. The score stayed 1-1 though one.
The second period was another tit for tat period. Oshie converted his 13th goal to give the Blues a 2-1 lead. On partial on 1 Kariya slid the puck over to TJ, he settled and roofed the puck over a sliding Theodore. Oshie showed a goal scorers touch beyond his age. The Caps Alexander Semin converted about three minutes later to knot the game at 2-2. IT was a terrific shot by Semin. Man on him and he sniped the top left corner on Mason. Mason was a little deep, but I don’t think he could get that one. The Blues power play was a little lazy on entries in to the zone and over passed at times. Its becoming a trend. However, Johnson took the puck at the point on a nice pass by McDonald. As Johnson skated away to the left wall he cleared a shooting lane and moved Theodore. Johnson’s shot is across the grain and finds the upper right hand corner. Blues are up 3-2 thanks to the power play. Mike Knuble would answer shortly there after on the power play. After two periods, 3-3 is the score.
No scoring in the third period, but several good chances for both teams. There were also several solid defensive plays to prevent goals. Both teams went up and down the ice. About halfway through the period the Blues earned a 5 on 3 power play for nearly a minute. In that time the Blues failed to score. As the second penalty ended the Caps came back with pressure. There was a feeling of “here we go again” in the crowd. The cliche of “the team that fails to score on the 5 on 3 usually loses” was creeping up. Yet the Blues held on to force OT. Overtime was interesting, but not spectacular. I though it was interesting that Ove didn’t come out in OT till roughly a minute and a half left in the game.
The shootout was a good one. Both Mason and Theodore made good saves, and were lucky. I was not impressued by Ovechkin’s attempt at all. Oshie nearly ended it when he got Theodore to bit on the backhand, forehand head fake. David Perron gave the Blues the 1-0 edge on the teams 4th attempt. I was surprised Morrison was used over Mike Green when the game was literally on the line. Mason stops Morrison and the Blues have two points.
The Caps dominated the faceoff circle, winning 43 of 71 faceoffs (60.5%). That is an area the Blues simply must improve in…now.
In terms of Giveaway vs Takeaway the Blues were a +6 (6 Give / 12 Take) and the Caps Even (8 Give / 8 Take).
The Blues 3 main lines played very well. The Backes line was the Backes line. The McSteenbeen Trio was solid and had an impact in every shift. I though Berglund and Perron stepped up their games as well.
Jackman and Polak…a combined 2 Assists, Plus-2, 5 Blocked Shots, and 3 Hits. Basically the same even strength time on ice that Ovechkin had.
Mike Weaver was the unsung hero. Just a solid defensive game. He had 1 Assist, 5 Blocked Shots, and 2 Takeaways in a little over 14 minutes.
Calgary ended up topping Anaheim late last night. The two points keeps the Blues just 4 points back of 8th place with not much time left. Huge win for the Blues at a key time.
Next up…well, next up is the Olympics. NHL play resumes in March. On to cheer on Team USA!
