GameBlog 12-1-10: Blues vs. Capitals
The St. Louis Blues follow up a bland effort against the Chicago Blackhawks with the mightiest of offenses, the Washington Capitals. Here is everything you need to know about the Blues 7-5 loss to the Hawks and tilt tonight against the Caps.
Windy City Blues
While this game didn’t end up in an 8-1 blowout like the Columbus debacle, the game wasn’t as close as the 7-5 score indicates. It took about 30 minutes for the Blues to get going and by that point the Hawks had foot to neck with a 5-1 lead.
Someone flipped the snooze off after BJ Crombeen cleaned Nick Boynton’s clock. The ice tiled back in the Blues favor. Eric Brewer scored on a delayed penalty call to make it 5-2.
The Blues got as close as 5-4 before Coach Q beat some sense in to his crew and a pair of goals made it a 7-4 game. Backes directed in one of Pietrangelo’s many shots and made it 7-5, but would come no closer.
The Quick and Dirty
- Ty Conklin didn’t get much help or do much to help himself. Stopping just 17 of 24 shots against.
- Patrick Sharp is money. That man is hot. Keeps up his scoring streak with 1 goal, 1 assist and 5 shots on goal.
- Sobotka, Berglund, Backes combined for 2 goals, 6 assists and Plus-7 waiting. Easily the top line for the while game in white sweaters.
- Alex Pietrangelo is playing two heads above Erik Johnson. Both are taking shifts against strong scoring lines and playing well enough. The rub is on offense. Petro was effective, creating two goals and many more chances to counter balance his gaffe on a 2-on-1. Johnson wasn’t effective inside the Hawks blueline and didn’t make up for his defensive mistakes.
- Anyone else feel like the Steen-McDonald-Boyes line wasn’t all that great?
Look Out! Here Comes?!…
No, not Susan, but an offensive force that plays in proportion to the Ginormic(a) size of said movie character.
The last time the Washington Capitals were in town was the final game before the Olympic break last season. After refusing to participate in the pre-game recognition, their marquee players went on to be equally uninvolved in the game. Ending in a Blues 4-3 Shootout win.
The Capitals return just as strong as they were 10 months ago. A high flyng offensive attack from all angles and corners of the ice.
Yes, They Have Europeans. Yes, They Score… A LOT
Three players born across the Atlantic lead the club. Alex Semin has supplanted fellow Russian countryman Alex Ovechkin as the teams top finisher. The duo has a combined 28 goals with Semin owning 18. Swede Niklas Backstrom is the playmaker in the pivot adding 18 assists and 27 points to the bottom line. The three have 37 goals and 89 points in 75 games. That’s a pace of 292 total points over a full season. Crazy EA sports inspiried numbers.
How do the Blues stop them? Keep the puck in the Caps offensive zone as much as possible and force the trio to spend more time playing defense than creating offense. Not an wasy task with the puck moving and possession prowess of the Caps.
Blueline Horses
Speaking of puck movment… Few are as good as Mike Green and John Carlson. At times a “fourth forward” using a high level of skill to quickly get speed and pressure forward. While they may not be the strongest defenders, their ability to get the heck out of the defensive zone hides those deficiencies.
The only way to stop them? Chip n’ Chase to turn them around and outwork their support on the forecheck. Not exactly an area the Blues have excelled in lately.
What You Need to Know
- Caps have won 3 straight and have 107 shots on goal in that span. Basically 36 per game. Season average of 31.8. Blues allow a league low of 26.8.
- Caps own the 4th best Goals For/Game rate of 3.36. Very respectable Goals Against/Game of 2.68, 13th overall. The Blues are 20th with a 2.57 Goals For/Game rate and 14th with a 2.70 Goals Against/Game mark.
- The Caps possess the 3rd best power play clicking at a 23.9% clip. Surprising to me, but they own the 8th best penalty kill right now. Stopping the man advantage 84.9% of the time. Blues power play is doen to 13.8% (25th) and the penalty kill has fallen to 21st at 81.1%.
- Semyon Varlamov is the expected starter for the Caps. Jaroslav Halak will attempt to reprise his role as Caps Killer and will start for the Blues.
- Blues made several moves today. Shipping Chris Porter and TJ Hensick back to Peoria. Recalling Dave Scatchard and Stefan Della Rovere. Strachan will be in for Nikitin per Lou and JR.
- Capitals Injures? Defensemen Tom Poti and Mike Green are listed as day to day. Poti has a groin injury and Green limped off the ice after blocking a shot in his first game back after a shoulder issue.
Blues Lineup
*Guesswork based on roster changes
Forward Lines
Alex Steen – Andy McDonald – Brad Boyes
Vladimir Sobotka – Patrik Berglund – David Backes
Matt D’Agostini – Jay McClement – BJ Crombeen
Brad Winchester – Dave Scatchard – Cam Janssen
- Reports on Twitter indicate Davis Paybe may juggle the lines to get the matchups he wants on Ovechkin’s line. Expect Backes back at Center? Very likely.
Defensive Pairs
Eric Brewer – Erik Johnson
Barret Jackman – Alex Pietrangelo
Carlo Colaiacovo – Tyson Strachan
