GameRecap 12-26-10: Blues 2 Preds 0
After many St. Louis Blues fans indulged in Turkey, Ham and all the trimmings the last few days, many were ready for a long winter’s nap. Comatose from plenty of grease and sugar in their system. I wonder how many fell asleep, as I did, watching the Blues defeat the Nashville Predators 2-0 last night?
A perfect storm of bad outlet passing, good goaltending and a fairly inept offensive opponent. It was a snorefest for the ages.
No fights. One penalty. One “real” goal. Panger struggled to get out a “holy jumpin’!”. Just look at the ESPN Box score.
The Blues lacked control of the flow through out the contest. Something they are not too familiar with at Scottrade.
Nashville won 32 of 56 draws (57%) and feasted on neutral zone turnovers (11 Giveaways overall) from errant passes. Using a tight forward attack that effectively cutting the ice by a 1/3 on most of the Blues breakouts. If any game this season has looked like those prior to the House of Payne era, last night was one. The transition game was just not where is should have been.
When the Blues could exit their defensive half and work 200 feet away from their own net, they were stuck to the boards. Their scoring chances came of counter attacks and on the rush. The general lack of productive pressure lead to just 26 shots on Pekka Rinne and a total of 61 attempts on net (26 on goal, 24 missed, 11 blocked).
The Predators fared slightly better. Putting 32 shots on to Jaroslav Halak and made 71 attempts on net (32 on goal, 32 missed, 7 blocked).
Fortunately for the Note Halak seems to save his best for the eastern most Division rival. After allowing four goals in his first matchup against Nashville on October 14th , Halak has allowed only 3 goals in 4 games. Two of those being shutouts. The Halakness Monster didn’t have to show himself very often, but he was present when called upon.
The scoring didn’t open till early in the second frame when Vladimir Sobotka tipped a Nashville breakout pass to David Backes. He broke in on right wing and beat Rinne high to the short glove side. The type of goal that has bothered Halak, especially in the home and home set against Dallas last month, burned the Finnish netminder. Peks has the large frame to cover the net when he goes down, but day light will show high on any goalie down in the butterfly. With the near post left open, Backes sniped home his 8th of the season.
Backes added his 9th on an empty net goal to seal the deal. Out hustling Cal O’Rielly for a loose puck from an Alex Steen clearing effort.
Quick Hits
- Patrik Berglund is on the up and up of one of his streaks. Adding a shot, a block, 3 hits, and 9 face-off wins (of 17 attempts) in 17:44 TOI.
- Alex Pietrangleo is not the same player he was prior to his shoulder injury. His 75% effort is just as good as Tyson Strachan‘s 100% though. My only concern is that when he is paired with Carlo Colaiacovo that his 75% looks like 50% because Carlo just isn’t that strong defensively. At the same time, I’m sure Davis Payne doesn’t want to move him back up with Barret Jackman till he is at 100$ and able to handle the tougher even strength defensive assignments again. Petro was not making smart choices with the puck under pressure last night. Then again, he had little support for a good number of those poor decisions.
- Sobotka continues to impress. His emergence as a dependable two way player in the top six gives the Blues some leeway with Perron and McDonald out. Not that Sobe can replace either one of the two concussed forwards, but he is proving to be the capable gap filler so many were calling for a trade to acquire.
- I know Jordin Tootoo is the kind of player everyone loves to hate, but wants him on your side. I’m sick of his antics. Leaving his feet twice last night to take runs at Cam Janssen. Kudos to Cam for keeping his head on. That was not the type of game that retaliation would be welcome in. Taking a bad penalty at that point was exactly what Tootoo wanted and what the Blues didn’t need. Cam along with Adam Cracknell and Chris Porter have combined to make an effective 4th line over the last 3-4 games.
- I would much rather see BJ Crombeen flip the puck past the defenders and into the corner than take shots from above the circle. That shot doesn’t produce a goal 99% of the time. However, flipping the puck past the defenders, turning them around and making them work creates an opportunity to produce a penalty or start sustained pressure. I can’t imagine the coaching staff wants to lose the puck for such a low percentage play.
- I’ll throw some kudos to Brad Boyes as well. It appears that once again Jay McClement helps the struggling scorer find his game. Do the Blues and the fans need to alter their perception of #22? Maybe he just isn’t a legitimate goal scorer? Maybe he is just the type of guy who does a little bit of everything and is a master of nothing? His slick moves with the puck and sniping touch have been AWOL longer than they’ve been present.
- Did Erik Johnson even play? Looking at the scoresheet one would barely be able to tell. Registering just one hit in 19+ minutes on the ice. I will be the first to admit that analysis goes far beyond statistics. However, even going beyond the numbers, his impact on the game was minimal. Not what this team needs from its franchise cornerstone.
Three Stars
1. Jaroslav Halak
2. David Backes
3. Pekka Rinne
Next Up
Tuesday December 28th: The Chicago Blackhawks take a road trip down I-55. Patrick Kane is expected back for the first time in a few weeks due to a knee injury.
