GameRecap: Blues Lose 4-3 To Phoenix
Two Breakdowns Do Blues In
In the St. Louis Blues 4-3 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes it was two lapses in play that tore away two points in a key match-up for playoff positioning.
After a fairly well played opening 20 minutes the Blues came out lame yet again. The Yotes pushed the pace and scored twice to wipe away David Backes’ first period tally. Lauri Korpikoski netted his 10th on a deflection. Another instance where the Blues failed to box out the forward establishing net presence coming off a cycle play. Lee Stampniak’s 9th summed up where this game was heading.
As the Blues gain the zone and begin their rotation Erik Johnson cmmits himself to a high risk move with no support. Taking the puck from the bench side he curls on his backhand between the tops of the circles and the blueline. Stempniak is high in the zone, reads the play, steps up and strips EJ. Yet another instance where Jaroslav Halak has been hung out to dry against a breakaway by the former 1st overall pick. Johnson completely missed his pairing partner Carlo Colaiacovo swinging in to open space back towards the bench. Instead of draw two or three defenders to the far side for a reverse, he coughs up the turnover.
Halak was strong in net aside from the tip and breakaway so coming in to the final set the Blues just needed to get back to work. Which they did. The rediscovered tempo lead to a pair of goals in 20 seconds time. First was Matt D’Agostini’s 10th when he sniped one past Jason LaBarbara after picking up his onw blocked shot. Brad Winchester made it 3-2 when he visited his favorite hangout, the crease. He banged in a lose puck from a Jay McClement rebound to raise his goal total to 8.
With 3/4 of the period left the Blues looked to be in good shape. Then the allegedly exorcised demons of 2009-10 made their presence felt. Halak gave up a pair of soft goals to give Phoenix the win. As good of a shot as Kyle Turris has, the third Yotes goal shouldn’t have ended up behind Jaro. Perhaps a little too deep in his crease? If he is on top versus sitting towards the middle he has that in his glove. Taylor Pyatt broke the tie at the 16:48 mark with a warp around attempt Halak stops 99 times out of 100. A very inopportune time to not get the paddle down and leave space between the pads. He just didn’t look ready for that play. As if he expected the energy line winger to dangle. That’s not how those guys operate.
Quick Hits vs. Coyotes
- Davis Payne deserves a little tongue lashing for putting the 4th line out inthe third period in a 1 goal game. Their inability to hold the offensive zone lead to the Turris goal. TJ Hensick, Chris Porter and Cam Janssen were a combined Minus-6. Compare that to Phoenix’s 4th line who notched the game tying and winning goals.
- Alex Pietrangelo lead the Blues with 22;42 TOI with a Plus-2, 3 Blocked Shots, 1 Hit and a Takeaway.
- How was Johnson not credited with a Giveaway for his part in Stempniak’s goal?
- D’Ags is playing his way in to an interesting niche. He, like Vladimir Sobotka, has been perceived to be a 3rd or 4th line contributor, but has stepped up with impressive performances alongside Backes. He isn’t the powerful forward Rene Bourque can be, but his progression could be something similar. A winger with some skill playing in a lesser role shows a strong scoring prowess at even strength and becomes something more. His goal and assist moves his totals up to 10 goals and 21 points. Has 3 goals and 8 points in his last 10 games.
- Halak stopped 29 of 33. LaBarbara stopped 33 of 36.
- How often do the Blues control the face-off circle? Not often, but they did against Phoenix. Winning 33 of 61 draws, 54%. Backes lead the way with 7 of 12 won.
- Colaiacovo was a Minus-3. Blindly quoting Plus/Minus rarely properly describes a players play, but in this case it does. On the ice for three of the four scores and didn’t contribute much else.
- After this game there is little doubt, or there should be, that Backes is a difference maker. When the fires hot and under control he is a beastly force.
- Yes, Janssen and Bissonette got in to it. Cam got in tight early, but BizNasty2Point0 took over with the size and reach advantage. Bam Bam is a gamer, but he was outmatched.
-
As always, you are invited to follow @618_STLBlues and @BlueNoteZone on Twitter and on the BlueNoteZone Facebook Fan Page for in game updates and Blues news. Please also check out the St. Louis Blues Blogs Facebook Fan Page for links to Blues blogs all over the Internet.
