Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. His name is Lars Eller. Too bad Christmas doesn’t come in early November. Otherwise the Blues would have wrapped up their 31 shot performance with two points instead of one.
I would be fibbing if I said I wasn’t upset the Blues came away with only one point. However, I am greatly encouraged by their play against Calgary. The Blues increased their neutral zone and offensive zone pressure. They also increased their quality and quantity of scoring chances. This game was much more reminiscent of March 2009 than any other game since the two in Sweden.
A couple players had better games than they have all season. Specifically I’m thinking of Brad Boyes and David Backes. Backes has been improving more and more so I am not overly surprised he played better. I still liked his energy, drive, speed, and that he was finishing his checks. Boyes on the other hand showed flashes of why he could be a point a game guy. He was in open areas tried to make plays. I even saw him take a hit to get the puck out of the defensive zone. The game will come around for him, it will just take some time. I really liked that cur and drag move he tried along the bench side boards. The confidence he needs to play with is coming back. Sadly, hard work isn’t always rewarded.
The only real complaint I have is the first Calgary goal. Jay McClement brings the puck in with speed. He has at least two (I think there was three) Flames skaters confronting him on the left side of ice. He went down in the corner and lost the puck. We’ve seen Boyes do that a lot this season, didn’t expect that from McClement. I hoped he would chip it in behind the net to turn the defenders around, giving time for more Blues support to come in to the zone. The next folly was Alex Pietrangelo coming in deep and being caught on the offensive side of the play. When McClement lost the puck, there was no one on that point. I love Alex’s desire to get in the play, but he needed to recognize that the support wasn’t there and stay at the point. The play wii go the other way, but he could have slowed their progress. Lastly was Eric Brewer. I know he was just trying to help Mason, but that goal is his fault. Mason had cleared it off the line as the referee waived off the goal. Brewer comes back with no one one him and pushes it off Mason and back in the net. Just a bad play that the team needed to overcome.
From the first goal on, I wouldn’t say the Blues dominated the game, but the game reflected their pace as much or more than Calgary’s. They responded with scoring opportunities and some spurts of sustained pressure. It was very nice to see the Blues do something “different” ion the offensive zone. The Blues still pushed wide and collapsed on the net, but there were other types of chances. The Oshie cut in from the off wing and improved movement to the point to stretch the collapsed defense. The Blues looked more post-lockout than pre-lockout.
How good is Lars Eller? The kid (which is what he is still) has eleven North American games under his belt and steps on to the NHL ice and seems to have the game figured out already. He reminded me very much of David Perron. You can just see as the game went on, the light bulb went on in his head. He cold see the game and understand how to make a play. Darren Pang mentioned this as well That Elller can see to make plays and has great vision in tight spaces. He used the body very well in terms of creating space, working the boards, and delivering a few hits. I like how he took the Cory Sarich abuse in front and just smiled through it. I really liked the Eller-Patrik Berglund-Oshie line, but I would love to see an Eller-Oshie-Perron line. Eller played well enough to earn more than 9 minutes on the ice and well enough to play more games in St. Louis. However, once McDonald is back Eller must return to Peoria. The Blues need to find a way to get Eller on the roster, now.
Memo to Coach Andy Murray, please play Cam Janssen if you are going to dress him. The fans see the improvement in his game, we can see he is playing with more control. Hasn’t he earned more icetime by now? Less than 2 minutes is inexcusable. Murray is wasting a roster spot that can be filler by someone like Eller. The Blues don’t have a Malkin, Crosby, Ovechkin, Kovalshuk, Thornton, Iginla, etc to double shift on the 4th line to create more chances to score. Play someone who an see regular minutes so you aren’t double shifting all night. Why cause more fatigue to key players when your team has the depth to play a consistent twelve forwards for 10+ minutes a night.
Chris Mason wasn’t really tested, yet he faced 31 shots. He certainly made saves when needed, but Calgary’s chances were not as threatening as the pressure the Blues put on Mikka Kiprusoff. Mason as left alone on the Jarome Iginla goal and I cannot put the blame on him for the Dion Phaneuf winner. Mason gave the team a chance to win, he did his job, not much else to say. Kiprusoff stole Calgary two points. The Blues need to run in to a goalie on a slide, the last three games have all been stonewalls from goalies standing on their head. Phaneuf, by the way, I thought played a rather unimpressive game till he got a lucky goal. Jay Bouwmeester was much better.
I continue to be “impressed” with Daryl Sydor. He has a steady, consistent game that compliments Erik Johnson very well. Overall the Blues defensemen were okay. Brewer seems to be improving his game, getting back to NHL speed. I liked the rush and attempted move to the net by Brewer. Showed some confidence and willingness to use his big body as an asset. Roman Polak just keeps on going. What a find for the Blues. He was again very strong on the boards and with this stick work. HE also made a couple nice transitional plays using his speed to get up ice and get the puck in. Pietrangelo was there, but not in the same capacity as his previous games. With Carlo Colaiacovo to return soon Alex needs to step up his game again. To prove to the team that the fans are right. He deserves the ice time over Mike Weaver when Barrett Jackman returns. Nothing against Weaver, but its a numbers game at this point. Sydor has been better and the Blues need the offensive presence of Colaiacovo, Johnson, and Pietrangelo.
The Blues are on the right path and it doesn’t get any easier Saturday when the Blues take on the Flyers in Philadelphia.
Player of the Game
Lars Eller
Blues Rookie Lars Eller scored his first career NHL goal on the power play against the Calgary Flames Thursday night.
