Gameblog 03-04-10: Blues vs. Stars
There was a pretty important game played down in Dallas last night. Abut 18 Blues skaters and a goalie showed up. Dallas had about 6 and no goalie. In what was the biggest game for Dallas to date, they failed (fail is the operative word here) to show up. Hence, the Blues win 6-1 down in big D.
The Blues performance (save for some time in the second) was down right masterful. They looked like a top 5 team. The pressured Dallas at every opportunity, took away space, and most importantly made the neutral zone theirs. As Kelly and Pang alluded to during and after the game, the Blues did a great job of generating speed and pressure through the neutral zone. I know Jackman and Brewer aren’t ideal puck movers, but the team is getting it done with smart, decisive play (just like how Chicago does it).Dallas rarely, if ever, took time and space from the Blues entering the zone. That might have been the easiest time the Blues have had crossing the blue border line all season. Dallas just opened the door and said, “come on in, our goalie will not stop you”.
In a way I feel bad for Turco. He was a very fine goalie. HOwever, it seems he is going the route of JS Giguere. Time for Marty to have a change of scenery. I also feel bad for Eriksson, Neal, Richards, Riberio, Benn, and Robidas. In my opinion the only Stars who really showed anything and pressured the Blues.
As far as the Blues go, they were just too much. The spacing, passing, speed and decision making were some of the best we’ve seen all season. The Backes line has been strong and the top line for quite a while now. Does the team really have a second line? They haven’t till McDonald-Berlund-Perron started clicking. I would call last night that lines coming out party. Those three combined for a goal and two assists with good offensive zone pressure. The Steen-McClement-Boyes line was also very good as Steen and Boyes both scored very nice “goal scorers” goals.
The blueline was aggressive and physical. The EJ v Benn bout was fund to watch. EJ is going to use the Olympics to spring board on to his next stage of development and we saw that last night. Drop the gloves every once in a while to keep the forwards honest. Can anyone touch DJ King? Not Barch.
Mason was solid. I know that’s an odd comment on a 6-1 win, but he faced 30 shots. He came up with timely saves on Eriksson and Skrastins to keep Dallas at bay.
3rd Star – Chris Mason
2nd Star – Berglund Line
1st Star – Backes Line
Next Up for the Blues are the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. Blues are now just one point out of the 8th spot with Calgary and Detroit to leapfrog.
