We all know this story.  Husband makes wife upset.  Husband is chastised all night until he returns home the next day with a bouquet of flowers.  Wife is happy and things are good until the husband screws up again.

This is something that can be related to the St. Louis Blues and their fans.  After a loss to the Nashville Predators, the Blues faced-off with the Dallas Stars in Texas.  The Blues came out with energy and held a comfortable 2-0 lead after just four minutes of play.  Even after controlling most of the game, the Stars battled back and got the 3-2 win in the shootout.  Heartbreaker?  Not so much.  After all, the game was 2-2 going into the third period.  It was a hard-fought win by the Stars.  But the fans saw a fight brewing.

Two nights later in Chicago, the Blues had the same 2-0 lead but brought it into the third period.  David Perron seemed to be juiced on something in this game, scoring two big goals and bringing the fans alive in their living rooms.  But with just under seven minutes left, Marian Hossa scored a power-play goal for the Blackhawks to cut the Blues’ lead in half, and then scored again in the overtime period on poor defensive coverage by the Blues.  The name-calling and finger-pointing ensued by LetsGoBlues.com members.

Another game, another third period disappointment.

After going up 2-0 on the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, the Blues squabbled yet another third period lead to lose in overtime.

Both goalies played brilliant as Marty Turco made 32 saves, while Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves on the night.

You could dispute that the best save for Halak came about halfway through the first, but why would you?  After Blues defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo was shoved into Halak by Blackhawks forward Fernando Pisani, the two skaters fell in the crease.  Sprawled on his knees with traffic everywhere around him, Halak grabbed a shot from midair after the puck found its way to Duncan Keith at the point, who one-timed a shot right on net.  Halak was able to cover up to get the whistle.  This play made Blues fans realize why even the Oilers don’t want Pisani anymore.

Two big wins.  One was an exciting overtime win and the other was a boat race in favor of the Blues.  So currently sitting on the good side of the Central Division standings, the Blues look confident heading into game three of the 82-game grind.  Can they keep this play up or is this just a fluke?

Allow some negativity for a moment.  Game one was a sloppy and choppy game that saw the Blues get the last lucky bounce when it mattered.  The Flyers were without their all-star defenseman, Chris Pronger, and also featured the always-streaky goaltender, Brian Boucher.  Game two was against the Anaheim Ducks, who showcase a softer defense than that other side of Sears we keep hearing about.  The Ducks’ offense has been non-existent as well, shooting just 14 shots at Halak and averaging 24.0 shots per game, currently placing them 29^th in the league.

Also, remember how the Blues started the season in Stockholm last season and shut down their rival Detroit Red Wings in the first two games of the season?  They followed it up with a flop at home against the Thrashers 4-2, and then ended with the ninth best record in the Western Conference, which is not good enough to make the playoffs.

Rundown:

The Blues really have not changed much from last season.  They go into the season with the addition of not having Paul Kariya, and they also have a new face in goal.  With the obvious exception of Keith Tkachuk retiring from the game, the Blues almost have the same makeup.  A plus for this team could be that the youth of the roster no longer has that veteran presence up front to rely on for goal-scoring depth and overall leadership.  Why is this a good thing?  It forces the young guys to be in the open and show what they can do when they are counted on as the leaders of the squad.  The defense comes in with five skaters returning from last season, along with youngsters Tyson Strachan and Alex Pietrangelo in the mix.  This team has the ability to be in playoff contention, but they will need to work together and be a strong team together.  They don’t have that one guy to rely on for goals or to be a shut-down defenseman.