Blues' Good Start

In only the third game of the season, the Blues may have already played a defining game. That's tough to say with 79 games left, but in the small sample size we have to judge this year on, the Blues' fans should be very happy.

Last Friday night, the Blues opened their season at home for the first time since 2004, and won a season opener for the first time in ten years by defeating the Nashville Predators 5-2.

The poor offense, fueled by a lackluster power play, which was the team's biggest weakness last season, came through big for the Blues. They got down early, allowing a goal to Ryan Sutter just 2:03 into the opening period.

But the Blues bounced back, getting a power play goal at 12:45 from their grizzled, grinding veteran, Keith Tkachuk. The goal was assisted by both Paul Kariya and Brad Boyes, who tied for the team lead in points last season. Hopefully, this goal is a sign of things to come, as they need these three experienced scorers to help lead the way on such a young team. 

Just over thirty seconds later Barret Jackman notched a goal to give the Blues the lead, which they would not relinquish throughout the rest of the night.This was also huge for the Blues, as they ranked near the bottom in goals from defenseman last season, and the majority of the teams in the playoffs ranked near the top. This shows how critical it is to get scoring from the point, and also to have defenseman jump into the offensive rush from time to time.

The Blues would add three more goals, all in the second period and all on the power play, from Boyes, David Backes, and another from Tkachuk. Tkachuk, Kariya, Boyes, David Perron and Andy McDonald all had multiple points to open the season. Rookie center, and according to USA Today Calder trophy favorite Patrik Berglund notched an assist for the first NHL point of his career.

Opening night was a success. The Blues won, the Kiel, Saviss, Scottrade Center, or whatever you'd like to call it these days was buzzing like it used to before the lockout, and before the Blues missed the playoffs for the first time in my lifetime.

Charles Glenn sang when the Blues come marching in. The little black boy who always dances when techno music is played got into the act. The Cottoneye Joe Dancer on the Top Shelf staircase did the same on his cue. And of course Towelman fired towels into the crowd from the ice before the game, and four times during the game (The Blues scored their first and second goals so close together, that the PA announcer wasn't finished announcing the first goal when the second was scored, so Towelman didn't come down until after goal 2). 

That would probably be the best thing about the seats I acquired a ten game pack for Tyler, the Daves, and I, is we're right next to Towelman. The atmosphere is back, and I'm really looking forward to Thursday night against Dallas. Especially after our win yesterday.

After opening night, the Blues had to fly out to New York to take on the Islanders. They lost an hour with time zone switch, and St. Louis to New York isn't exactly St. Louis to Chicago either. It's a good two and a half hour flight. So even if the Blues could take off from the Scottrade Center, and fly directly to New York, with the game getting out at about 10, they wouldn't have gotten into New York until 1:30 am New York time, for a 6 pm faceoff the next day. In reality, it probably as more like 3 or 4 am. 

So I wasn't expecting the Blues to come out that great against the Islanders. And they didn't. They dug themselves a big hole, and they couldn't get out. Tkachuk and Boyes both scored again, to give them three and two goals on the year respectively. But they ultimately lost 5-2. The Blues have quite a few back to back games this season, but only two more times do they have to depart St. Louis and go to the Eastern time zone for a game the next day. One on November 29th and 30th, but the game here starts at 1, and the game in Atlanta starts at three their time. The other is a home and home with the Columbus Blue Jackets, which would affect both teams. So neither of these should be as rough as the Islanders turn around. 

That being said, the Blues dug themselves another huge hole in Toronto yesterday afternoon. After the first period, they found themselves down 3-0 on Thanksgiving Day in Canada (Which is I believe why the game began at noon. It was also Columbus day here, but since schools don't get off, I don't think that would've done well in St. Louis). However, the Blues power play went to work for them.

First, Boyes notched his third of the year from McDonald, and rookie T.J. Oshie (first career NHL point) to get the game back in reach at 3-1 just 33 seconds into the second period. Exactly two minutes after that, Toronto center Ryan Hollweg took a run at the Blues' other rookie, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo while he had his back turned. He was called for a 5 minute major for boarding, and handed a ten minute game misconduct. It was a dirty play, which is becoming far too frequent with him. He just returned from a two game suspension for receiving three game misconducts within 41 games one of which took place in a preseason game against the Blues when he cheap-shotted another Blues defenseman in Jay McKee.

His five minute major power play, which doesn't expire when the opposition scores like a typical minor penalty, or even reduce in time like a double minor, led to the Blues tying the game. Berglund scored his first career NHL goal, and Tkachuk scored with about two minutes remaining in the penalty to tie things up at 3. The Maple Leafs would regain the lead with six minutes remaining in period two on a goal by Niklas Hagman. Toronto took the 4-3 lead into the third.

The Blues would tie it again when Paul Kariya picked up his first goal of the year at the 4:21 mark of the third, from Berglund who obtained a multiple point game for the first time in just the third game of his career. Neither team would score the remainder of regulation, although not for a lack of opportunities. The Leafs had a couple of odd-man rushes which were either halted by good defensive plays by the Blues, or great goal-tending by Manny Legace, who has picked up where he left off after a fabulous year last season. On the Blues end, they got a power play late in the 5 minute, 4-on-4 overtime period, and Tkachuk nearly had his fifth goal of the year. The Toronto radio broadcasters( the game wasn't televised in St. Louis, so I streamed it on my computer) said it was the save of the early season by Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala, and were sure the game had just ended before the whistle blew. 

In the shootout, the Blues would get goals from McDonald and Boyes, while the Leafs got one from Nikolai Kulemin. The shootout ended with a save by Legace on Leafs' defenseman Pavel Kubina. The Toronto announcers were extremely critical of their team, for blowing a three goal lead against a team that had played three games in essentially three and a half days, as well as a third period lead. 

That kind of scrappy effort is what fans like to see, and you owe it to yourself to see the Blues in action. They are coming home for a seven game home stand that will last through November 1st, and ticket deals are constantly coming out from the fan friendly Blues. Go see a game if you can, hockey is much better live.