*Recommended to start in bold.

Montreal @ Atlanta

Carey Price vs. Chris Mason

New York (I) @ Washington

Nathan Lawson vs. Michal Neuvirth

Buffalo @ New York (R)

*Probable starters. Not yet confirmed.

Ryan Miller vs. Henrik Lundqvist

Florida @ Carolina

Scott Clemmensen vs. Cam Ward

Boston @ Ottawa

Tukka Raask vs. Craig Anderson

Calgary @ St. Louis

Miika Kiprusoff vs. Ben Bishop

Dallas @ Phoenix

Kari Lehtonen vs. Ilya Bryzgalov

Nashville @ Edmonton

&Nashville not confirmed

Pekka Rinne vs. Martin Gerber

Columbus @ Vancouver

Steve Mason vs.Roberto Luongo

Colorado @ San Jose

*Probable starters. Not yet confirmed.

Brian Elliot vs. Antti Niemi

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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.

Maybe Chaser has it all figured out? Save for a small handful of forwards, the price to win games was not paid last night against the Vancouver Canucks. The St. Louis Blues cannot afford another subpar effort on the draw and in physical effort. Someone besides Backes, Berglund, Steen and Sobotka needs to step up and make plays in the offensive zone. We’re all appropriately pointing the finger at “Doubel B”…”Double 2″….Brad Boyes. Chemistry with specific players be damned. If he stepped up once without Kariya and McDonald, he should be able to do it again. He can’t ride coattails to a new contract. Not at his age and expected contribution level in the salary cap era.

With their backs against the proverbial wall again, can they step up?

What You Need to Know

- No TV coverage tonight thanks to Versus. National blackout night to show the Caps and Devils. Just what every hockey fan wants to see who doesn’t live on the east coast…

- Last night’s loss put the Blues at 3-4-2 for the month of December. Dropping them to 12th in the Western Conference and 4 points behind the 8th spot.

- Ty Conklin is the expected starter for the Blues and do battle with former teammate Chris Mason. Will be interesting to see how the Blues exploit Mason’s deficiencies in net. Going back to his Nashville days Mase is 13-3-1 with a 2.01 GAA and .927 save percentage. If you own him, start him in your fantasy leagues.

- Former Blackhawks Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd lead the Thrashers in goals (Ladd, 12) and points (Byfuglien, 35). They are two key figures to stop if the game is to be won.

- Atlanta owns the 6th best power play in the NHL. Clicking at 22.7%

- In 15 career games against the Southeast Division leader Alex Steen has 5 goals and 11 points.

- No updates on the injury front. No new additions or subtractions.

Linkage

Piere LeBrun says “too bad, so sad. It will be better some day”. I love ya PLB, it’s just that we’re tired of hearing that same line. Turning frustration in to insanity. [ESPN.com]

Check our JR’s Morning Skate. I like his line up suggestions. [STLToday.com]

Brad Boyes is missing from this list. Sorry, I like to beat dead horses sometimes. [HockeyIndependent.com]

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As always, you are invited to follow @618_STLBlues and @BlueNoteZone on Twitter and on our Facebook Fan Page for in game updates and Blues news.

Rick Wamsley - Image courtsey Rivermen.net.

Wamsley was 17-20-1-5 in his 43 games behind the bench for the Rivermen. Accoring to the Rivermen’s site the team finished with 85 points, the most of any non AHL Playoff team.

Is it a coincidence that both Blues Goalie Coaches from the 2009-2010 have been let go? Wamsley today and Tyler Love who replaced Wamsely earlier this week?Is this a sign that the Blues are preparing for the departure of Chris Mason?

Of course I’m inferring that there is something “else” working in this scenario.

Wamsley was the coach while Mason took off during his spectacular 20008-2009 second half run. Love was brought in as Mason’s guy after the coaching shake up this season. The fact that both are now out of the organization says that the Blues are willing to move on and should Mason stay they feel that he is capable with any coach. It’s hard not to read between the lines and the possibility of a shake up to clear for a new netminder is a logical conclusion.

Of course, this could just be Doug Armstrong making his mark on the franchise. No, I don’t mean he is clearing the way for Marty Turco to come to town. What I mean is that the GM is responsible for putting bodies on the ice and the brains behind the benches. Its apparent he has some level of confidence in Payne, evident by his extension. While Wamsley has had success with Mason, he had much less success coaching in Peoria. Perhaps not taking a playoff capable team to the playoffs was a factor? There will also be an influx of youth coming to Peoria this fall. The team could add Pietrangelo, Cundari, McRae, and Allen to a line up that already could have Eller, Cole, Sonne, Strachan, Bishop and other younger players. Was Wamsely too much like Murray in his approach to younger players? I don’t know Rick to say for sure, but again…possibilities.

All you computer chair GMs out there, add goalie coach to your to do list.

In Other News – Blues and Otherwise

Chris Mason (Canada), TJ Oshie (USA), Ben Bishop (USA), and Lars Eller (Denmark) will play in the World Championships. Great experience for Oshie, Bishop and Eller.

Alex Pietrangelo’s Barrie Colts were swept by Mark Cundari’s Windsor Spitfires in the OHL playoffs.

Jonas Junland is Sweden bound, much to the dismay of some fans. My Hockey Independent blog is up now digesting the situation. Not a big loss, but the door isn’t totally shut.

Jordan Staal returns to the Pens line up tonight for Game 4 in Montreal. Bill “dad’ Guerin is out as well as Mike Rupp. Staal = Man of Steel if he can play effectively a few days after surgery on his foot to repair a tendon PK Subban’s skate cut so well. My buddy Brian Metzer at From the Point has great info on this. He reminds hockey fans that this situation is a lot like Sarge’s (Gonchar) from last season.

How about that PK Subban kid in Montreal? The kid looks three/four years more experienced than he really is. Smooth, effective and willing to work hard. Honestly, he looks to me like the Eastern Conference version of a Drew Doughtey / Erik Johnson hybrid right now. Maybe not the same skill level as those two, but similar play styles.

Sharks are up 3-0 on the Deadthings and can close out their series tonight.

The Canuckleheads and Bobby Lou are at it again. A 5-2 loss in Game Three was just not what the doctor ordered. Another Second Round choke job? Doug MacLean said it on Hockey Central last week, the Canucks lack a big time defensemen and its going to hurt them. I’m with him there. Once the Hawks get rolling the only team that can stop them is a rolling Sharks team. The only team that can stop either one of those two rolling is a Pens team rolling.

I picked the Flyers in seven. Looks like Boucher’s good luck ran out. Injuries to the Flyers don’t help either. Gotta love Carcillo complaining about a bit from Savard. I guess he wanted a clean hit to dive on? I’m sure Lapierre can help Carcillo.

Marleau to Toronto this summer? According to Hockey Central at Noon that is some random fan’s prediction that Doug MacLean was told he can bank on.

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.

Mason has a, 18-17-8 record while posting 2.59 GAA and .910 Save % this season. Last season with the Blues Mason was 27-21-7 with a .2.41 GAA and .916 Save %

According to Kevin Allen of USA Today (@kausatoday on Twitter), Blues netminder Chris Mason has been tapped as Team Canada’s “standby” Goalie for the Olympics. Apparently some speculation pointed to struggling sophomore Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets, however that doesn’t appear to be the case.

The Red Deer, Alberta native is 33 years old and a seven year veteran of the NHL.

Kudos to you Mase! Here’s to hoping you get the call.

The Goalies currently on Team Canada’s roster are Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, and Marc-Andre Fluery.

Chicago Blackhawks

vs.

St. Louis Blues

Pregame

So we meet again…

Earlier this week the Blues traveled to Chicago and took the Hawks league best home record down a notch. In the 3-2 victory the Blues grabbed the tiger’s tail and held on for the win. Can the Blues find the same goaltending performance and effort level at home?

With Calgary’s last two wins teh Blues are now seven points back of the Flames for the spot in the West. Calgary plays tonight down in Tampa Bay. Detroit also plays LA tonight. Worst case scenario could be a win for both Calgary and Detroit and a Blues loss. That would set the Blues back by nine points. Best case scenario the Blues crawl back to five points out. The situation is dire here. The Blues are only seven back, but have to leapfrog five teams just to get in. Sadly Detroit is getting healthy, Dallas and Anaheim are improving and Minnesota continues to stay close. The Blues are up against a wall tonight and need to come out with a better effort than what we saw Thursday.

Chicago has lost three in a row coming in to tonight’s game. The Hawks will be just as hungry to end their skid and start putting points back on the board to keep up with San Jose. The race for the top of the West is all Chicago has for motivation right now and they are four points back of the lead. San Jose is in action against the Predators in Nashville. Expect the Hawks to want payback for Thursday’s loss. This is the Hawks longest losing streak of the season.

Can the Backes line rebound? Will the Tkachuk and Berglund lines stay intact? So far all we know today is that Chris Mason will get the start in net tonight. Cam Janssen will likely be in for DJ King. BJ Crombeen skated today, but is still out. Thanks to Lou Korac for the info. earlier this week Andy Strickland tweeted that Carlo Colaiacovo will be scratched for tonight’s game. I haven’t seen any confirmation of that yet. Andy says a trade is not imminent (or should be implied), just that Carlo’s play is likely not where Head Coach Davis Payne wants it. Carlo has resembled Jeff Woywitka as much as he has resembled himself from the 08-09 campaign. Carlo is missing a golden opportunity in a contract season to show he can be a “Top 4″ guy.

There was a great quote by Payne in the Post following the game Thursday.

“It’s extra effort,” Blues coach Davis Payne said. “Those kinds of things make a difference in this game. You never know when that extra effort is going to pay off … that’s why you have to give it.”

It will be the Blues commitment to that extra effort that will keep them in this game (and the playoff race) or shut them down (and out of the race). The Blues need that second effort from many players who just have not given it consistently.

———-

Update 12:55pm CST: Andy Strickland just tweeted that Carlo Colaiacovo will be in the line up after a meeting with Davis Payne. There are some expected line up changes. Not sure if that’s more than just Cam in for DJ.

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Recap

In ou rbetter late than never addiiton I just have a few thoughts.

- How did so many Hawks fans get tickets to this game? When I first sat down with about 10 minutes left in the warmup, I saw more red jerseys than blue. By game time it evened out to about 1/3 of the crowd…but still.

- Even with the many drunk and disorderly Hawks fans, there was a great atmosphere about the game. In the six or seven games I’ve been to so far, this game had the most “in to it”crowd since the playoff games last season.

- Mason couldn’t come up with big, timely saves the way Niemi did. The Blues couldn’t come up with timely goals like the Hawks did. Well they did, just the ref had an intent to blow…and blow they did.

- The officiating appeared inconsistent and lazy. Status quo in the NHL.

- Brad Boyses has zero confidence in his game right now. Just as he get’s some, the refs take it away. I have never seen him weaker on the puck that he was Saturday.

- Patrik Berglund continues to have more good games than bad games under Payne. The other Swede, Alex Steen continues to play well on the power play…and just about everywhere else.

- The two “fights” were rather lame. Barker picks it with Jackmn coming in as a 3rd man on a play, then won’t man up and fight? Why bother if you know Jackman is going to throw the gloves down? Brewer v Ladd? Meh.

-Patrick Kane is one of the laziest players I’ve ever seen.  The kid has skill, but a total one zone player. If the Hawks want to win, they better show tape of Crosby to show him how a smaller player can be physically effective and play hard in all three zones.

- I have not been impressed with Duncan Keith the last two times I’ve seen the Hawks. Maybe I am missing something?

- I thought Johnson has an effective game, mainly in bringing the puck up ice. He was not the only Blues player afflicted with a new disease, call grip it, rip it, and watch the forwards block it. Just a terrible job at moving the puck quickly and getting open lanes. The team in general was slow in decision making and execution for the second game in a row.

- The Blues can further improve on the Stempniak for Steen & Colaiacovo trade by moving Colaiacovo at the deadline. He resembles Backman and Woywitka more so than himself from last season.

Next up is Colorado in Denver Monday night. The Blues begin the biggest week of this regimes history, can they pull out a win? Should they?

Chicago Blackhawks

vs.

St. Louis Blues

Pregame

Is there a bigger game against the Hawks than this one?

The Blues are fighting for their playoff lives and the Hawks are the best home team in the NHL. The Hawks are 21-5-1 at the United Center. The Blues are seven points behind the 8th place Red Wings. How big that Columbus loss starting to look?

BJ Crombeen did not travel to Chicago and will not play. Cam Janssen will dress in his place. Carlo Colaiacovo returns to replace Daryl Sydor. DJ King and Sydor are the healthy scratches.

The Lines/Pairings should be:
Kariya-Backes-Oshie
McDonald-Tkachuk-Boyes
Steen-Berglund-Perron
Winchester-McClement-Janssen

Jackman-Polak
Brewer-Johnson
Colaiacovo-Weaver

Chris Mason is expected in net.

Recap

What a game, the Blues had to have it and the desperation was there. Flash backs to a year ago anyone?

This really was  an open, fast game. It’s amazing the speed and pace that Chicago can push at you in waves. They might be the best transition team since the Red Wings in 2007-08. They used that ability to really stick it to the Blues in the first, jumping on multiple odd man chances. It’s hard not to get stuck watching that team in utter amazement. They have 5 men constantly in motion ready to take a pass on the angle while generating speed north. The Blues were able to get sustained pressure in the Hawks zone a few times, but nothing really substantive. Shots were 9-3 Hawks after one period of play, it seemed like more like 20-5.

Sadly, Patrick Kane opens the scoring in the first with a nifty back hand goal on a backpedaling Mason. Kane (and Sidney Crosby) are just on another level with rarely used backhand shot.

I was impressed by the Blues’ ability to not panic, repeatedly at least. I thought the team in general did a good job of getting solid second efforts on a play. Alex Steen continues to be the team leader in that department. TJ Oshie a close second. The Blues did get caught chasing multiple times, but it’s really hard not to against the elite teams. When the Blues had chances, they did take the body. To the point that Hawks Captain Jonathan Toews decided to complain to the refs after a series of physical plays against him. I love the battles between the Jackman-Polak pair and the Kane-Toews line.

The second period is proof that hard work pays off. The Blues had a foothold in to the game even though they entered the period down 1-0. They were matching the speed (to the best of their ability) and intensity level. Hard work paid off first when a streaking Paul Kariya took advantage of a Duncan Keith misque. Kariya took the puck at full speed and stopped on a dime behind the net. A quick turn and pass to Backes and its 1-1. Thanks to a dumb penalty by Ben Eager (Not the last lazy offensive zone hook), the Blues went back on the power play. This time the power play wasn;t as lazy and produced a goal. Great work by Oshie to sell the shot from the point leads to a quick pass to Backes on the left wing. One timer off some Hawk shin guards through Cristobal Huet and its 2-1. Backes now has his 7th career multi-goal game. The Blues were not done.  Less than a minute later Roman Polak enters the zone and makes a great move to get open for a shot in the high slot. Shot goes towards Jay McClement. He puts the tip in goal in to put the Blues up 3-1. With the tiger by the tail, can the Blues hang on?

Coming in to the third everyone knows the Hawks are coming 110% at you. Blues fans are thinking “In Chicago, against the second best team in the West, late lead = blown game”. I would be lying if I said it didn’t creep in to my head, especially after the comical defensive effort that lead to the Hossa SHG that made it 3-2. I was surprised to see the Blues stick to their game and were able to match the Hawks enough to maintain the 3-2 lead. They countered when they could and Mason came up big.

Positives
- Chris Mason was solid, stopping 32 of 34 shots.
- David Backes contributed very solid play red line to red line and scored twice.
- The Blues were only a Minus-3 in the Faceoff category. The Blues won 26 as the Hawks won 29.
- The Backes Line has really solidified itself as the Blues #1 Line.
- Alex Steen continues to shine in a wonderful all around game. He is a great first man in on the forecheck, back checks hard and has a good shot when he can get it off.
- The Jackman-Polak pair combined for 1 Assist, 2 Hits, an EVEN rating in 43+ minutes of combined play. Polak also set up the game winning goal by McClement.
- Patrik Berglund won 6 of 9 faceoffs.
- Eric Brewer and Erik Johnson combined for 5 of the Blues 9 Blocked Shots.

Negatives
- Blues were out shot 34 to 19. Yes, Chicago is an amazing team that controls the game, but 19 shots will not cut it against San Jose tomorrow.
- As good as Backes was (which he really, really was), he lost 10 of 13 faceoffs.
- The Blues gave up more odd man rushes than a human has fingers and toes.
- When was the last time the Blues failed to block at least 10 shots on goal? They had 9 in this game.
- Brad Boyes cannot hit the broad side of a barn right now. Missed a golden opportunity in the waning seconds of the 1st period. Shot never got close to the net.

Post Game Questions
- How effective is the McDonald-Tkachuk-Boyes line? Not effective enough. Is it time to put McDonald with Berglund and Steen or Perron as the “second line”?
- What is the ceiling to Roman Polak’s play? The kid keeps showing more and more each game. Is it time to give him some consideration for power play minutes?
- Did this game show the glaring weakness of the Blues at the NHL level, the blue line? Its amazing to see what Chicago has done with 5 guys who are offensively and defensively capable players.
- Is Chris Mason coming back to his Spring 2009 form?
- Will David Perron develop past having only one or two impact players in the offensive zone and that’s it each night?
- Does Brad Boyes have any trade value right now or is it too low to warrant dealing him?
- If Kariya keeps playing well and raising his trade value, is it inevitable that he is moved?
- Does this team need Colaiacovo to win?

Next up for the Blues is San Jose Thursday night down at Scottrade. The Sharks are here waiting for a tired and travel weary (yeah I know its a short flight, but its still taxing the day after playing), can the Blues respond better in a back to back scenario than they did in Edmonton? We shall see…in HD.

Columbus Blue Jackets

vs.

St. Louis Blues

Pregame

…and the beat goes on…

The Blues face off against Division rival Columbus tonight in a game that could further bury Columbus or propel the Blues. Columbus sits in 14th place in the West with 51 points, 10 points behind 8th place Detroit. The Blues are in 13th with 56 points, 5 points off the pace. Detroit does not play tonight, but does on Sunday. A Columbus loss and a Detroit win could put them 12 points out and keep the Blues about 5 points back. It could be 6 for the Blues with a win, Detroit loss, and Calgary win over the lowly Oilers tonight.

Columbus comes in as inconsistent as ever. They haven’t won back to back games since January 10th and have lost 6 of their last 10 in regulation. Columbus vice appears to be scoring. In their last 10 games Columbus has allowed 3 goals or more in each loss. The Blues need to look to their power play to generate chances and convert to give the Blues some added offensive to go along with their 1-2 even strength goals a night.

JR over at the Post has his Morning Skate blog up. Talking about DJ King and his return.

Lou Korac has up his Gameday blog as well. Here are the lineups from the morning skate.

Kariya-Backes-Oshie
McDonald-Tkachuk-Boyes
Steen-McClement-Perron
Winchester-McClementCrombeen

Jackman-Polak
Brewer-Johnson
Sydor-Weaver

Mason in net.

DJ King is back from Peoria but will not play tonight. Cam Janssen is a healthy scratch. Carlo Colaiacovo will not play although he thinks he is ready to go. Payne is likely sticking with what works. The Sydor-Weaver pair was pretty good during Carlo’s absence.

Lou says to expect Mathieu Garon to start for the Jackets.

I will likely be out and about this evening so will be catching the game on the DVR and will behind live play. Will update as I get through each period.

First Period

What a period by the Backes line. From the first shift to their last.Good early tone and work ethic set up by that line.

The Blues forecheck is just outworking the Blue Jackets defensemen. There wasn’t many clear turnovers in the period, but a lot of pressure and the Jackets exit was rarely not contested. Steen might be the best forechecker on this team.

For all the talent Perron has, he really seems to not read the quick developing play well. I know he had some sizeable real estate to shoot at, but he needs to get that puck off the far leg pads. Steen was right there for a rebound. He made up for it on the very nice play to end the period.

Soft first goal by the team. Not so much all on Mason, but you can’t allow Dorsett to walk in the slot like that.

Columbus did have some good chances, but Mason was up to the task. As was Sydor and Steen. A couple blocks and a couple of limping trips to the bench.

The Blues hard work lead to a late period power play. With the zone clear with about 14 seconds left the period seemed over. However, the Blues rush up ice and Perron makes the right read and dumps the puck off to Oshie on the off wing. Backes camps in front of Garon and Oshie shoots low and on net. Backes spreads the legs, and puts his stick down the middle. Tip in for his 11th goal of the season.

Blues go in to the second tied 1-1. Late period goals can kill a team (we’ve seen it happen to us). Blues get the jump early and they can put Columbus out of this game.

Second Period

This period was a little more evenly matched. Both teams generated chances and pressure.

Winchester v Boll a draw?

It’s sad that another questionable call leads to a goal against the Blues. Late in the period Eric Brewer taps away Derek Brassards stick. They shove and Raffi Torres injects himself as a 3rd man in. Scuffle ensues and some how Roman Polak is given the only penalty? Really? Its not like the call at the end of the first period was questionable. How often are the scuffles in front turned in to 5 on 3 power plays with about 2 minutes left in a period? Why not even it up and let the teams play.

Here is it refs, plain and simple. You are horribly inconsistent. You can look to virtually every game each night to find a questionable call leading to a game changing event. Why? I know its up to the players to decide the game, but the refs do not need to make inconsistent calls to tilt game events to one side or the other. Either way Columbus scores late in the second on the 2-man advantage.

Third Period

The Blues and Columbus went back and forth. Refs missed calls on Columbus, Brad Boyes missed a W-I-D-E open net and takes a lazy high stick. Columbus goes on the power play late.

Just when you think the game is over the Blues pressure hard on the PK and kill the penalty. The Blues continue to ramp up their even strength play and pressure Columbus late. What happened to create the McDonald goal was quite interesting.

Rick Nash, the Columbus Captain decides its a good idea to use his stick to flip a glove on the ice at a Blues player carring the puck. The ref finally recognizers the penalty and whistles Nash. The Blues create chances as Erik Johnson draws his point defender to the middle for a nice backhand saucer to McDonald. Andy walks and in bang its 2-2 with little time left.

Let me ask Columbus fans…where is the leadership and intelligent play from your Captain? A dumb penalty on the raod, in the third, on a team pressuring you with all the momentum. Not much leadership in my estimation. Hopefully that level of play for Nash continues on to Team Canada.

Overtime

The Blues create a couple of chances with Polak and the great play by McDonald. Kariya takes the blue line and finds McDonald sprinting in behind two defenders. Andy goes skate to stick, forehand to backhand and tries to get it past Garon’s left leg pads. Garon answers and the play comes back up ice. Kris Russel ends up with the puck over the blue line. Kariya has him marked, but instead decides to cover the pass to the 4th man in. The problem is that no one is left to take on Russell. As we have seen with Mason before, he is handcuffed glove side and gives up a weak goal. Jackets win 3-2.

Recap

I love the desire shown by the Blues in the third to absorb the penalty and come back. Its an encouraging sign. However, its one mental mistake and a soft goal that burns this team again. Kariya fails to cover his man and Mason cannot stop a shot that Garon did on his end. Middle of the road teams are defined by their goaltending. Tonight Garon was better.

There were encouraging signs from the Backes and Tkachuk lines at even strength. Solid, aggressive play.

When Steen failed to return for the third, it really hurt this teams chances of taking the two points. Steen has fully blossomed under Payne and his forechecking and puck hounding presence was missed. Alex took a slapper right off the laces. He limped off but came back only to wipe out while trying to cover a point shot. All that has been said is “lower body”. Just when we got 100% healthy….the injury bug bites again.

I was not really impressed by the play of Brewer and Johnson together. Too often I thought they were backed up by one forechecker and failed multiple times to move the puck up ice quickly. EJ later proved he as up to the task, but I was not so impressed by Brewer. Other than Johnson’s multiple single man pressure back-ups, I thought he played a very confident game.

Anyone else really tired of Columbus defensemen scoring goals on Mason? It just happens every game I swear.

Faceoffs continue to be an issue for the Blues. Columbus won 30 of 53 faceoffs, 60%. The Blues just cant win games when their faceoff precentage is so low. Their puck movement game isnt good enough to generate the needed possession when you lose so many faceoffs.
Berglund 1-7
McClement 7-15
Tkachuk 4-9
Just not good enough. can the Blues acquire a faceoff winner? I would think that needs to become a priority. Kreps, Stajan, Belanger are some names that could be moved around the deadline who are in the Top 40 that could be moved.

Brad Boyes needs to get his head straight. I just can’t get over how he can’t seem to score this season. The first chance on the power play was a great save by Garon, but Boyes didn’t lift the puck. The previous two seasons that puck is in just under the crossbar. This year its barely above the pad. The second chance , missing a wide open net. What makes it worse is that Garon was out to the far left and Boyes pulled the shot wide back towards Garon. I know its a fast game and a hard play, but after scoring 76 goals in two full seasons in St. Louis he needs to bury that. The Blues are paying Boyes $4mil and not getting much impact.

The Kariya scoreless streak in St. Louis carries on. McDonald extended his point streak to 7 games.

With the one point the Blues are now 4 Points back of Detroit for the 8th spot in the West. Detroit pays the Pens tomorrow on NBC. Root for the Pens if you’re a Blues fan tomorrow, the Blues need the buffer.

How does this season’s squad measure up to that magical run barely a year ago?

In terms of team points and standings the Blues currently have 56 points after 54 games played. In 08-09 the Blues were 22-25-7 (51 points) in 54 games played. It took the Blues 92 points and the 8th spot went for 91 points. That means in the final 28 games the Blues took 41 points, 73% of the possible points.  In 2010 the working theory is that it will take 95 points to make the playoffs in the West. That puts the current team 39 points back wit 28 games to go. Can the Blues take 70% (69.6%) of their remaining points? While the Blues are only 4 points out of the 8th spot in the West as of January 28th, they have basically the same hill to climb to make it back to the playoffs.

This time around the push will be much tougher. The teams in front of them have improved. Phoenix is not a push over, nor is Nashville. Detroit is getting healthier and is getting good goaltending. Minnesota is playing better as that team adapts to a new front office/coach. Anahiem is still lead by 3 amazing players and have added more (if they can stay healthy). Colorado is a very strog team after some upgrades and improved health. Not to mention the elite teams like San Jose, Chicago, and Vancouver still strong. There is no easy road in to the playoffs any more.

We know the path that must be taken. We know that last years team got the job done. If the road to the playoffs is more difficult to go down, have the Blues improved their roster to equal the task?

In the 08-09 season push the Blues were defined by the play of a few players. None more important than Chris Mason, but we’ll get to him in a moment. The primary offensive threats were Brad Boyes, David Backes, and Andy McDonald. The forwards in general were hard working, extremely physical and defensibly responsible. The corps of defensemen were a true motley crew. A young veteran in Jackman, a “rookie” standout in Polak, the enigmatic Colaiacovo and Woywitka, stable and steady McKee and Weaver. A whole lot of defense in not much offense. How did this group get it done? Periphery players like Winchester, McClement, Colaiacovo, and Weaver had career seasons. Polak and David Backes jumped on the scene. TJ Osie and David Perron provided youthful secondary points. Basically everyone in front of Chris Mason played to his highest level possible.

No other player had a bigger impact than Mason. He was the most obvious example of a Blues player having the best year of his career in 08-09. Mason lead the Blues to take 60% of the possible points when he started while posting a career high in Games Started (51), Wins (27) and Shutouts (6). He also posted career second bests in GAA (2.41) and Save % (.916) (in seasons he started 20 games or more). The vast majority of his impact play came in the last 3 months of the season, when the Blues made their push.

This seasons team started off much the same as the 08-09 version. Struggling early to close out wins and not getting enough goal support for Mason. Who is leading the offensive charge? No one really. Backes and Boyes have struggled greatly this season and until Payne took over both had few stretches of productive play. McDonald has been McDonald, but there is no support. Patrik Berglund who started strong and finished weak last season continued his weak play. Oshie was solid, but not producing. Perron was inconsistent in terms of production. Basically adding back Kariya, Brewer, and Johnson some how changed the counterattack offensive mojo the Blues created in 08-09. The defensive core was solid, even with some changes, but was not as consistent as needed. Till the Murray firing, the Blues looked like a team that couldn’t duplicate. The improvement from other teams passed them by.

Enter Davis Payne and the mojo slowly comes back. Backes and Oshie are consistent. Boyes level of play has been elevated and its only time before he starts scoring again. McDonald has been McDonald, Kariya has improved. The offense is crawling back. The defensemen are adapting to Payne’s system and its showing positives more than natives. Now the roster is different with no real changes. Players like Oshie, Berglund, Perron, and Boyes have been “released” to be more creative and Payne has sought out to empower them. Can we say that shift is working? I would think most fans would say yes. Alex Steen has flourished offensively on all lines and on the power play point. Even the old man Tkachuk is contributing. The defense is more active than ever. The trade off of more offense for a little less defensive security has seemed to pay off. Players most fans would describe as “stay at home defensemen” (Polak, Brewer) are pitching in the play and contributing points. Heading down this season’s second half stretch, can we say that this roster is improved over last seasons? I would say yes, the team is trending positive thanks to David Payne.

We are back to Chris Mason again. While fans can finally say that the roster in front of Mason is playing more to expectations, can we say the same for Mason? Before Murray was let go I would say no. He had not been as good or better to meet the challenge at hand. He showed flashes, but was struggling with consistency. Again, not all his fault but it was still an issue. Since Payne came in Mason has allowed 21 goals in 10 starts, that’s a 2.10 GAA. He has stopped 265 of 286 shots against for a .926 Save %.

When looking at this season’s goaltending situation we cannot forget Ty Conklin. Maybe the best free agent signing by the Blues under the current regime. In 8 starts Conklin has 8 Wins, a 2.61 GAA and a .921 Save %. Compare that to last season’s back up goalies? A sour and showing his age Manny Legace and a green rookie in Ben Bishop. Conklin is a big upgrade who can (and already has) given Mason days off while giving the Blues wins.

Are the Blues trending up at the right time again? Since Payne took over the play has improved and the Blues are 7-5-2, taking 16 out of 28 possible points (58%). The Blues were 17-17-6, taking 40 of a possible 80 points (50%). The 8% raise isn’t enough. As we saw last year its going to take a 70% run in the last games to be in a playoff position from the Blues current position. Can they get it done? Did this lineup learn enough last year on how to take charge of their season and take over games? Can Davis Payne channel that experience and add it to his up-tempo system that is producing results? The last 8 games before the Olympic break will tell us a lot. The Blues face 8 Games in 15 days with three back-to-back sets. The Blues aren’t playing the Oilers, Stars, or Wild. These are games against Chicago (twice), Detroit, San Jose, Colorado, and the Caps. All those teams are in the Top 4 of their conference or a top-level team that is getting healthy. If the Blues can eek out points and stay close coming back from the Olympics, there is every reason to believe they can pull off a late season surge again. All can’t be lost yet, sportsclubstats.com says the Blues have an 11.1% chance.

The Blues were handicapped tonight. David Backes has been used as a shut down center against the best lines in the league. Backes missed his second straight game and was replaced (admirably) by TJ Oshie.  The Blues still missed his big body denying space and creating chances. Carlo Colaiacovo also did not play (lower body). While his play hasn’t been as consistent as it was last season, his offensive presence is still missed on the blue line.  These two players are counters to the aggressive game played by the Ducks. Backes as a physical equalizer and Colaiacovo as a puck mover.

The tale of the 3rd Period really was how the Ducks rolled two lines and dominated the Blues. There was no answer to Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan, and Scott Neidermeyer. THose 4 really dominated the pace of the game in the third. The Blues couldn’t contain Perry down low. Getzlaf worked them over from all angles while Ryan put 10 shots on goal. aybe someone needs to check for some PEDs on those three. They were out shift after shift for 60 second + shifts. The Blues couldn’t stem the tide. Which truly seems to be the problem. Once the scale is tipped, the Blues struggle greatly to tip it back.

Case in point, shots on goal. The teams were even after the first and the Ducks were +1 on the Blues after two. In the third the Ducks outshot the Blues 17-3. Once the Ducks caught a break with Barret Jackman falling down at center ice and scored their first goal the scale tipped. The Ducks threw everything they had in to the push and dropped the hammer on the Blues.  Who stepped up to stem the tide? Who stepped up to equalize the push? No one. Let’s face facts. The game is passing Keith Tkachuk by. Paul Kariya is not the type of player to take over a game anymore. Andy McDonald isn’t really that type either. The young guys with the size, mental capacity, and skill set like Oshie and Erik Johnson are too inexperienced to do it. This is where someone like David Backes helps this team.

I understand the “safety net” type approach in using the McClement line late in games to hold off the other team. However, they were on the ice for two of the three goals and really couldn’t stop the big three up front for Anaheim either.

The lone obvious bright spot was TJ Oshie and his play at center. TJ mostly played Center at North Dakota and you can likely call it his natural position. Let’s just say that the consensus around the Blues media seemed to be that TJ looked good. In 20 minutes on the ice TJ had 6 Hits, 2 Takeaways, a very pretty goal scorers goal and numerous defensive plays. TJ covered as much ice as Backes has been and played the part well. I can’t really say I have a complaint about his level of play. He even got Brad Boyes going a little as well.

David Perron the other hand…that’s a little different. Kudos to David for taking EJ’s best stretch pass all season and drawing defenders to the net to drop off the puck to McDonald for the firs goal. However, after that play his game stagnated. David can play a fast paced game, he has shown that. Last night he seemed to revert to “It’s me and four other people”. Multiple times he killed the speed generated out of the defensive zone by holding on the the exist pass for too long. He tried to make too many moves in the offensive zone when he had easier plays to make. The odd man rush where Tkachuk was left hanging on a drop pass might be the most glaring example. The bottom line is David has the skill, but still needs to learn how to work with the other guys on the ice consistently. It’s a learning process for David. The kid is motivated enough to get where he needs to be. His Hockey IQ just needs a little work.

I have seen some fan rage against Erik Johnson for his role in the second goal. Look folks, this is a simple concept people need to acknowledge. Development does not work on a positive linear path. This is not NHL10. EJ has the potential to be a franchise defensemen, but that is potential. Not every single player jumps in right away and does everything right. I’ve sen people mention a Toews, Kessle, Tavars, Crosby, Ovechkin. Really? EJ is the ONLY defensemen taken #1 overall since Chris Phillips (Ottawa) in 1996. he has developed in to a solid NHL player and that took a little time. Understand this, EJ has great potential. Potential does not actualize right away. This team has no one close to his level of skill that can assume the role he has, so we wait and let him develop. The stretch pass he executed up to Perron for the first goal is what we will see more of, but don’t forget is is going to crawl before he can walk. In my opinion EJ is one for one in the good vs bad play department, I’ll take that.

Chris Mason didn’t look so solid. He as moving laterally often and was ending up more out of position than he likely wanted to. That said, he didn’t get much help in the third. The Blues did a poor job of playing defense in the offensive zone in the third. Meaning they didn’t keep the puck out of their own end very well. Mason did stop 34 out of 37 shots.

Interesting shootout, the longest in Blues history (seven rounds). I was very disappointed in the effort by Perron and McDonald. Boyes and Oshie had the Blues goals. Perry, Getzlaf, and James Wisniewski (Game Winner) with the Ducks goals. Both Mason and Jonas Hiller got stronger as the shootout went on. Mason just bit on a good move by Wisniewski before the Blues could get Hiller for a third time.

The Blues head back on the road to take on Western Canada again. Monday night the Blues are in Calgary…another team slumping. The Blues need to be mindful of playing with fire. A lazy effort in Calgary against a hungry team getting beat up lately could be the start of a weak road trip.