GDT Game 5: 10/14/18 | 6:00 PM CT | vs Ducks | FSMW/KMOX

[theohall]

ST. LOUIS -- Two teams with little time to shore up their defensive play will meet Sunday night when the St. Louis Blues host the Anaheim Ducks in the second game of a back-to-back for both teams at Scottrade Center.

Both teams lost road games Saturday night when the Blues fell 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime and the Ducks dropped a 5-3 decision to the Dallas Stars.

The back-to-back set is the first of the season for each team.

The loss Saturday was a particularly dispiriting one for the Ducks, who raced out to a 3-0 lead before the midway point of the second period but allowed four goals in a span of fewer than seven minutes before intermission. The Stars racked up a franchise-record 30 shots in the second period.

The Ducks, who pulled John Gibson after the second period, limited the Stars to one goal -- an empty netter by Radek Faksa with 1:28 remaining -- on seven shots in the third.

"Our team performance, obviously, in the second period wasn't good, but in the third, we played more of the way we need to play," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "But it takes 60 minutes to win in the NHL. We only played 40 minutes."

As far as defenseman Cam Fowler was concerned, Saturday night was a long time coming for the Ducks, who allowed opponents to fire 134 shots at Gibson in their first four games but still opened 3-0-1.

"I feel terrible," Fowler said. "He's been phenomenal all year. He's the reason why we even have a chance most nights. As bad as tonight was, if you look at our shot totals for us in the first five games, it has not been good. And he's been our best player, by far, so I feel awful for him."

The Blues rode a roller coaster as well Saturday when they fell behind 2-0 before scoring three straight goals spanning the second and third periods. But Blackhawks right winger Alex DeBrincat scored the tying goal with 6:54 left in regulation before he collected the game-winner with nine seconds left in overtime.

"It's good that the guys battled back, we got a point," Blues head coach Mike Yeo said. "But still, there's some areas that need to improve here."

The Blues have given up at least four goals in three of their first four games.

"You have to play smart to be good defensively," Yeo said. "And I think that when we start to have sort of an internal pride in our locker room, that when you're on the ice, that it matters as much not to have anything bad happen as it does for something good to happen, then when we start to come together a little bit more as a team."

The Blues announced Saturday night that backup goalie Chad Johnson will make his season and St. Louis debut Sunday. Johnson, who signed as a free agent on July 1, is 3-2-0 in six career appearances against the Ducks.

Miller is likely to get his first start of the season for the Ducks. He is 2-7-0 in nine career games against the Blues.

[theohall]

You have to play smart to be good defensively...

You need to be smart as a head coach and know when to break up a line which is awful defensively. Maroon/O'Reilly/Tarasenko isn't working. It's been 4 games and they are being outscored considerably in 5-on-5 play. Time to break them up.

If anyone wants to know what a smart coach does when his top line isn't scoring and/or playing poorly in their own end, he breaks them up like Cooper did in Tampa after only 2 games. Granted, the Blues group "needed time to gel." 4 games and plenty of practice time should have been enough. Maybe come back to this line later in the season, but something now has to change or the Blues are going to keep losing games, because the top line can't stop opponents from getting quality scoring chances. It hasn't mattered which defenseman were on the ice, because it's happened with 8 different defenseman and this same group of forwards - which has to be some kind of accomplishment - being the only Blues forward line to surrender a goal with almost every Blues defenseman on the roster. I think the only one who isn't part of that defensive group is Butler.

We shall see if #YeoMustGo will continue to be stubborn keeping a group together who are a clear defensive liability.

[glen a richter]

Blues 3 Blais, Maroon, Edmundson
Ducks 1

[Robb_K]

Not a surprise that Johnson is in for Allen, as Allen can't play ALL 82 games, and after a 50 shot against game the night before, I guess he deserves a night off.

Let's get a win in this one!

[Robb_K]

Delay of game on The Ducks. Let's get a goal, and never look back!

[Robb_K]

Nice play in front of the net by Tarasenko, Maroon, and Bozak (with the nice goal)! Great comeback to take the lead. Let's hope this is the start of better overall play by The Blues.

[Robb_K]

The Blues had a very good 2nd Period. Let's hope they can hold onto the lead and get the 2 points in regulation.

[Robb_K]

Things don't look good. The Ducks are getting to all the loose pucks first. The Blues look tired. They are not putting any pressure on The Ducks. They hardly even get it into the offensive end. And when they do, they lose the puck quickly, or get one weak shot that has no chance to go in. With The Ducks in our end 3/4 of the time, getting several shots off, it's only a matter of time to disaster. Too bad Schmaltz had the puck roll on him when he was right in front.

[Robb_K]

And there it is. Let's hope The Blues rustle up some guts and energy, so they don't lose this game.

[Robb_K]

The Blues had better kill off this penalty.

[Robb_K]

They played well on most of the power play, but couldn't last, giving up the go-ahead goal with 1 second left. Bah!

[Robb_K]

The Blues had 2 really good opportunities to score while The Ducks had tired players out there, who'd been on the ice way too long.

[gaijin]

I think I saw this game yesterday already...

[glen a richter]

These guys suck.

[Robb_K]

The Blues were tired. They ran out of gas early in The 3rd. Are they not in playing condition? They came home late after an OT game. But The Ducks didn't arrive much earlier. The Blues have lost almost every game so far, with most of them at home. I don't like the way they are playing, and Yeo and his staff don't seem to be doing much about it.

We were all so optimistic after the trades. Maybe the team read all the press clippings and thought the winning would happen automatically, just by them stepping on the ice. The Blues need some kind of change (system, preparation, position changes, roster change, coaching change, attitude change, kick in the rear.....). The Universe decided.... "We can't let those Blues' fans be happy." Typical of the last 51 years.

[gaijin]

I have to say- 5 games in, I expected a better record from this team than 1-2-2.

[theohall]

Yes, the Blues added some really skilled players. The problem is Yeo won't put the skilled players together insisting on rolling out Steen - arguably the Blues slowest forward as hard as he tries - with the first unit. Rolling out Maroon in the final minute of a 1-goal game where he winds up doing nothing from behind the net while the rest of the team is stationary watching him, instead of, you know, actually working closer to the net and trying to create opportunities. Thomas-Kyrou-Blais did play one shift together - but that was it and was basically a result of the rotating bottom 5 forwards with 7 D dressed.

Meanwhile, earlier in the game, Kyrou kept getting the puck, skating with it in really good areas for passing to someone - but Bozak and Maroon are absolutely clueless in how to work into a scoring area or separate from the guy defending them, so Kyrou had nowhere to go - multiple times. Someone like Kyrou could make Tarasenko and ROR way more effective. But he's a RW, some will say. He spent most of his junior career playing his off-wing, not RW. He'd be fine. You don't have to have a big presence on a highly skilled line - ask Jon Cooper and the Lightning. Paquette-Point-Gourde (6-1 198, 5-10 166, 5-9 172) was a line Saturday night. Another line - Johnson-Kucherov-Palat (5-8 183, 5-11 178, 6'0 188). Both were very effective. Today's NHL doesn't require a big guy in front of the net on every shift, if you put the right skilled players together. Yeo barely challenges the old conventional thinking with the Schenn line. He should do the same with Tank and ROR, because the Blues best line has been the Schenn line which isn't hampered by someone who can't pass or is the slowest skating forward on the ice that night. Yes, those big bodies are important sometimes, but they shouldn't be your top line players.

As an aside - Steen is so slow - last night vs Chicago on a Blues power play. Schenn is behind Steen at center ice. Schenn barely has a head start skating. He dumps the puck into the zone in front of Steen on the boards where any other Blues skater not named Thorburn would have gotten to the puck. Steen was so slow, Schenn skated past him and got his own dump in off the half-wall. Steen was trying to get there, he was just too slow. End of the aside.

What happens if Kyrou was that guy behind the net in the final minute tonight, instead of Maroon in that final minute? I'm betting he isn't standing still for 15 seconds diddling with himself trying to figure out where to go.

What happens if Thomas is that guy behind the net, instead of Maroon?

This idiocy that big guys who have crappy passing ability will make the difference in skill situations is absolutely ridiculous and it's causing the Blues to lose games.

Refusing to put Thomas or Kyrou on the power play where there skill would more than likely become evident, insisting they have to prove it in 5-on-5 play first. I don't see Brady Tkachuk or Elias Petterson having to prove their skill in 5-on-5 play before being placed on power play units. #YeoMustGo is relying on an outdated coaching method for the way younger players, especially forwards, are being developed these days. I could understand making those two prove it if they hadn't been named OHL Regular Season MVP and OHL Playoff MVP and weren't highly regarded prospects. But they were MVPs and they are highly regarded offensively skilled prospects.

1) Lack of effort by veterans who keep getting opportunities in spite of the lack of effort
2) A coach who won't take friggin' risks with rookies even when it's evident one of them (Kyrou) is playing very well.

[Toasted Oates]

I have to say- 5 games in, I expected a better record from this team than 1-2-2.

I agree. Granted, they've been in every game going into the 3rd, but that obviously means nothing. The trip to Canada comes at a good time. Could also spell doom for the head coach if it goes badly, though.

[Robb_K]

I have to say- 5 games in, I expected a better record from this team than 1-2-2.

I agree. Granted, they've been in every game going into the 3rd, but that obviously means nothing. The trip to Canada comes at a good time. Could also spell doom for the head coach if it goes badly, though.

That would be a blessing.

[Robb_K]

The Blues had better do something before they lose too many games.