RECAP: Blues 3, Wild 2 (SO)
| 
| 
The Blues finally got it done after the extra overtime period.
Before Saturday’s contest, the Blues were 0-5 in the shootout this season, scoring only one goal in that time. It was a different story at Scottrade Center tonight.
The Blues converted on one of their three shootout attempts tonight, coming off the stick of Kevin Shattenkirk in the second round. Jaroslav Halak backstopped the rest of the shootout, giving them a 3-2 victory in the game over the Minnesota Wild.
“It felt like I had lost about 20 pounds when I came back to the bench,” Shattenkirk said about scoring in the shootout. “It was unbelievable. Even just getting one goal and getting the win is huge for us.”
“Our confidence was really low [heading into the shootout] because we lost every one of them,” Halak said. “It feels great to win the first one of the season. Hopefully there are many to come.”
The Blues are once again in first place in the Central Division and second in the Western Conference.
The shootout was not the only story in this game. The referees handed out 65 minutes in penalties, including six fighting majors and three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
Comment on this article in our active discussion forum.
Jaroslav Halak Returns to Montreal Tuesday Night
Monday, 09 January 2012 00:54 | |
| |
This post was originally published at TheHockeyWriters.com It has been a long time since Jaroslav Halak has suited up in the Bell Centre in Montreal. He will be doing it again Tuesday night. The only difference is that this time he will be a member of the St. Louis Blues. The Slovakian netminder has not played in Montreal since being traded to St. Louis in June of 2010. That trade came just over a month after leading the Canadiens on a miracle run in the2010 NHL playoffs. Halak, who’s contract was ending on July 1 that season, was moved instead of fellow split-starter Carey Price, much to the dismay of Canadiens fans and media. In that playoff run, Halak posted a 2.55 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 18 games played against the Penguins, Capitals and Flyers. This included some highlight-reel saves coming against perennial goal-scorers Alexander Ovechkin, Mike Green and Evgeni Malkin. Comment on this article in our active discussion forum. RECAP: Blues 4, Avalanche 0
Sunday, 08 January 2012 04:55 | |
| |
When you work hard, you will be rewarded. The St. Louis Blues are a testament to that. After playing in what was possibly the best team win of the season, the Blues find themselves atop the Central Division with 53 points exactly halfway through the 2011-12 campaign. This happened on a night that the Blues dominated play, winning the game 4-0 over the Colorado Avalanche. “That was a very complete game,” Head Coach Ken Hitchcock said. “A lot of really good things[happened]. We caught a team on a back-to-back and [I give] full marks. We took advantage of it and I thought we had a lot of good players. I thought that our transition game was as good as it’s been.” Brian Elliott played in goal for the Blues, making just 15 saves to earn his fifth shutout of the season, placing him in second place in the NHL for the statistic. “It was pretty fun to watch the guys do their jobs out there,” said Elliott with a grin. “I got to touch the puck a couple times behind the net and it was awesome just [having] the guys play the way that they did.” Jean-Sebastien Giguere got the start for Colorado, making 35 saves on 39 St. Louis shots. Comment on this article in our active discussion forum. Road Wins Will be Key for the Blues
Wednesday, 04 January 2012 06:22 | |
| |
This post was originally published at The Hockey Writers. Since Ken Hitchcock has taken over the coaching duties, the St. Louis Blues have moved up in the standings with a balanced offensive attack and all-around strong defense. The penalty-kill has improved dramatically and the power-play has shown signs of life. One problem of the Blues’ game still seems to linger on. Games that are extended to shootouts are still hurting the Blues’ point totals. After the final whistle for the overtime period blows, the Blues are 0-5 on the season. Here are the stats for every shooter that the Blues have used in 2011-12 thus far: T.J. Oshie 1-5 Alex Steen 0-3 Patrik Berglund 0-2 David Perron 0-2 Kevin Shattenkirk 0-2 David Backes 0-1 Matt D’Agostini 0-1 Jamie Langenbrunner 0-1 Combined: 1-17 So how has the opposing team looked in the shootouts against the Blues? St. Louis goaltender Jaroslav Halak (the only Blues goaltender to participate in a shootout this year) has stopped 10 of 17 shots, giving him a .625 save percentage. This puts the Blues in 19th place for save percentage in the NHL. Obviously, the Blues are a mess in the shootout. What does this mean for the rest of the season? The Good News Evgeni Nabokov said it best after going 0-3 in the shootout in its inception year: “I guess the good thing is we don’t have this crap in the playoffs,” he said after a loss in Edmonton. That is the good news. If the Blues can rediscover their winning ways and make it into the 2012 playoffs, they can worry about winning games in the way that they are coached; with that complete 200-foot game. The Bad News While shootouts do not matter in the playoffs, they sure do matter in the race to make the playoffs. I know, I should be telling you something you don’t know. The not-so-obvious part is who are taking points away from the Blues and why it is important that they are doing it. The division-rival Nashville Predators have beaten the Blues in two different shootouts. The Colorado Avalanche, who are only four points behind the Blues in the standings, have beaten the Blues in the shootout. The Minnesota Wild, currently just one point ahead of the Blues, have won a shootout matchup with the Blues. These are games that the Blues need to close out in regulation. If that is not possible, the Blues need to steal that extra point more often. After all, getting one point when someone close to you gets two does nothing for your cause. How to Improve Coach Hitchcock is doing it. Now he just needs time. The way to turn this problem around is to switch up the players in the shootout. T.J. Oshie is the only one who has scored a goal in the shootout this season, so he must continue getting the most chances. But the other two spots are interchangeable. David Perron and Kevin Shattenkirk have looked promising but more players need a chance. Hitchcock is doing just this. He is yet to use the same shootout lineup in a game this season. If Hitchcock just continues to work through his lineup, eventually he will get success. Someone on this roster is just waiting to get a chance in the shootout. Giving everyone a chance will eventually pay off. Remember, Hitchcock led his Blue Jackets to six shootout victories in 2008-09 during their miraculous 2008-09 playoff run. If he could get 13 shootout goals out of that club, he can get this team to produce in the extra shots. Comment on this article in our active discussion forum. Could Shootouts Doom the Blues?
Sunday, 01 January 2012 17:52 | |
| |
This post was originally published at The Hockey Writers. Since Ken Hitchcock has taken over the coaching duties, the St. Louis Blues have moved up in the standings with a balanced offensive attack and all-around strong defense. The penalty-kill has improved dramatically and the power-play has shown signs of life. One problem of the Blues’ game still seems to linger on. Games that are extended to shootouts are still hurting the Blues’ point totals. After the final whistle for the overtime period blows, the Blues are 0-5 on the season. Here are the stats for every shooter that the Blues have used in 2011-12 thus far: T.J. Oshie 1-5 Alex Steen 0-3 Patrik Berglund 0-2 David Perron 0-2 Kevin Shattenkirk 0-2 David Backes 0-1 Matt D’Agostini 0-1 Jamie Langenbrunner 0-1 Combined: 1-17 Comment on this article in our active discussion forum. |
