Bluenotes 3-30-11: Blues Fall to Wild | Deadthings Next | River(men) Readings
A dose of news and views from around St. Louis Blues nation and the NHL at large.
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Quick Hits on Blues 3-2 Shootout Loss to Minnesota
- A rather meaningless game came and went pretty much as billed. Sure, there were a few big hits, some poor officiating and the post game skills competition, but the game really lacked appeal. Two teams, in different divisions, well out of the playoff race fighting for draft position. Oh, the drama!
- Speaking of drama, the crowd seemed more concerned with checking Twitter and Facebook on their phones for the latest TJ Oshie gossip than the game on the ice.
- It was nice to see Vladimir “Sobe Vodka” Sobotka back on the ice last night. The Czech pest didn’t show any lingering injury issues. Racked up two hits, a takeaway and 2 shots in 17:39 TOI.
- Yes, Alex Pietrangelo played 27:17 last night. He was pretty good.
- Patrik Berglund continues to play well. Begging the question, has he turned the corner? The answer just might be “yes”. The primary cause for optimism? He is really starting to understand how to use his size and strength as a tool rather than an hindrance to his skill set.
- How about Stewie? Chris Stewart tallied his 25th and 26th goals of the season. His 5th multi-goal game since coming to St. Louis. Credit linemate Big Bergie for creating the space to let Stewart finish off the first goal in to a gaping net behind Jose Three-or-more (stick tap to @CrossCheckRaise for that one). Too bad the Blues couldn’t get three (or more).
- Jaroslav Halak looked just terrible on the Eric Nystrom goal that opened the scoring. But really came on as the game went on. Stopping 26 of 28 shots against. Is Halak coming around? In March he is 4-3-1 with a 2.21 GAA and .906 save percentage. He isn’t stopping them all, but enough to win games.
- Two trends that need to change or at least be reduced:
1. Flying down the wing and not attempting to cut to the middle, then running out of space and being forced to the corner or a low percentage cross ice passing play.
2. Excessive right wing half boards/corner set up on the power play.
- Pierre Marc Bouchard had a heck of a game. An excellent snipe in to the tiniest of spaces above Halak’s glove and his flying wrister past Halak for the shootout winner.
For visual folks, the highlight reel:
On to Motown
The Blues head up to Detroit to take on the Red Wings. Here are your Quick & Dirty FYIs.
Detroit leads the season series with a 3-1-1 record. This will be the 6th and final meeting between the Central Division rivals this season.
Barrett Jackman may be back before season’s end, but is not traveling to Detroit. Keeping tabs on TJ? David Perron (concussion recovery) and Alex Steen (ankle) are also out. Steen may return soon as he has started skating again.
The Wings are dinged up with Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen have missed a few games and Jimmy Howard is also not available to start in goal. Joey MacDonald will patrol the blue paint in his stead.They won’t be without Todd Bertuzzi. Though his hit on Ryan Johnson should have warranted a suspension, the league did not hand out one.
Crazy Stat of the Game: In 5 games against Detroit this season David Backes has 2 goals, 5 points and is a Plus-3. Only four other players making the trip (Matt D’Agostini, Andy McDonald, Chris Porter and Alex Pietrangelo) have a rating of Plus-1 or higher against the Deadthings this season.
A Blues regulation loss in regulation and a Calgary win tonight eliminates the Blues from the playoffs.
River(men) Readings
As promised I wanted to deliver some thoughts and impressions of the guys up in Peoria after Saturdays 2-0 win over San Antonio.
Jay Barriball – In his first professional hockey game, the Minnesota boy didn’t look out of place. He kept up with the games flow and wasn’t flustered or handicapped by the speed. He certainly has the hands as he dangled around two defenders to get open in the slot for a shot that narrowly missed the net. For someone his size, it didn’t mean that much. He was able to wade through bodies and find open space. More importantly, he didn’t shy away from contact. One more than one occasion he used superior body positioning to take hold position and even take a man down.
Does he has NHL level skill, certainly. His detractions are the same as TJ Hensick’s. Can he find a way to bulk up his slight build and not lose mobility and keep up wth the requisite pace. Both mentally and physically.
Mark Cundari – Due to injuries the two time Calder Cup winner was playing left wing. His mobility and strength for his size are still good enough to play defense at at least the AHL level. That said, he has the skill set to possibly be a forward in the future. The Blues experimented with such a transition with Steve Wagner and it failed. However, Cundari is a far better hockey player, at least at this point of his development, than Wags. He has a stronger chance at making such a jump.
Derek Nesbitt – What I saw confirmed what I said a ways back in a Rivermen Report. He has the ability to be a sniper at th AHL level, but not at the NHL level. Still, someone to keep an eye on as he could be helping Peoria build a base of players to keep the team fighting for the Calder Cup while the high level prospects rotate through.
Jake Allen – I saved the best for last. The kid is smooth, clam and seems technically sound. He will get more agitated and animated than Halak typically does. Which is good when athleticism and urgency are needed more so than form. He as a ways to go before testing Halak for the job in St. Louis, but it will be his.
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