2nd OT Quick Hits & Game Thoughts
Can the second OT be summarized in one sentence? Yep. "I hate being right".
Heading in the big concern was if Halak would be rusty after not seeing much work in the first overtime period. He is a goalie that thrives on seeing a good amount of work after all. The answer is a resounding yes as Martin Havlat's second goal of the game is the game winner.
San Jose takes game one 3-2 in 2 OTs.
For those looking to play the "pin the tail of blame on the goalie" game will find no safe haven here. yes, Halak was not square to the play and wasn't out far enough to cut the angle down. That said, while the Blues were out-possessing the Sharks in the first OT, did anyone bother to score?
The Perron, Backes, and Oshie line created a plethora of scoring chances but never converted. The effort through three regulation periods was inadequate for a top line of a #2 seed. Would the final score be different had they played for minutes 1-60 the way they did from 61-80?
In total the Blues made 78 attempts on the oppositions net: 42 shots, 17 misses, and 19 blocked by San Jose. How many of those misses were high and wide "Brad Boyes" specials? Far too many. Over the course of the regular season many of the juiciest scoring chances were created by elevating shots. Goalies seemed to have real difficulty handling shots off shoulders, and high off the blocker and glove. Defenseman struggled to box out crashing forwards sniffing out the rebound that resembles an infield fly ball at Busch Stadium. To create such havoc the puck actually has to hit the goalie. Many misses were were corner snipes gone wrong.
Note that Ryan Reaves played only eight minutes and one second. It appears that the skate to the face did more damage than meets the eye. I won't use the "c" word, but given the team's history I wouldn't be surprised.
Did Chris Stewart do enough to earn one of 12 spots for Saturday's game? The question comes not form really doing anything negative, but that he had very little quantifiable positive impact on the game. If he cannot handle the role of an extra line winger, then someone else better suited for such duty needs to dress. If a change is to be made, I'd venture to guess Chris Porter and BJ Crombeen would appear in Game Two. That is assuming Reaves cannot play. At the time of this update, no news of his status was available.
Game Two is Saturday at 6:30pm Central. Another chance for the first playoff win in over eight years. Will history be made? Only if the finals score of Game One can be forgotten.
- - -
First OT Quick Hits
By virtue of this section being labeled "First" OT, one should know the game is still tied 2-2.
- How the Sharks held the Blues at bay is no small miracle. Yes, they did do their best to close down the slot, but that doesn't mean that multiple high percentage chances were yielded. If not for the play of Niemi, the game would be over.
- If this game were taking place a week ago, the safe bet would be that San Jose was angling for a shootout. Thankfully this is the playoffs and the skills competition doesn't continue past game 83. It sure looks like the Sharks are just hanging on, closing down as many openings as possible and waiting to exploit on risky pass or failed dump.
- The big concern heading to the second overtime: With so little work for Halak, will he be too rusty from a period spent mostly napping to handle an early onslaught by the Sharks?
My Picks to Win It: Perron for the Blues and Marleau for the Sharks.
- - -
Third Period Quick Hits
Now, this, is playoff hockey. After 60 minutes of play the game is all knotted at 2-2.
- Both sides finally decided to go all out and the result was the most exciting period of play Blues fans have seen in a week.
- The other three lines finally fully engage and put the Blues in the driver seat for most of the period. They just needed to find a way to bag a goal or two.
- Patrik Berglund registered his first playoff goal by the combined efforts of his line plus the pointmen. They kept the puck in the Sharks zone and the puck eventually ended up behind Niemi for the first time this series.
- San Jose has brought their short handed unit in to the Blues zone more than a few times and it finally cost them with the fastest Blues skater on the ice. Russell made a heady play to spring McDonald on a two on one with Berglund. The lumbering Swed finished off his second and his teams first man advantage strike of the post season.
- With less than 10 minutes to go it was lockdown time. Unfortunately Roman Polak picked a bad time for a rare mistake. Tommy Wingles beat him to set up Andrew Desjardins' tying goal. Another low to high play cost the Blues. While that was far more common under Davis Payne, when properly executed anyone can fall victim.
- Jaroslav Halak appeared to have injured himself making a sprawling save, but remained in the game to push the game to overtime.
- Still watching those faceoff figures? Sharks hold a one win lead 30 to 29.
- I get why Barret Jackman is the whipping boy of many fans, but his renegade cop mentality best suited for a FX or HBO show is something every team that expects to win games in the playoffs must have. Pure blood and guts. He may be the last to wear No. 5, but he wears it the way it should be.
- - -
Second Period Quick Hits
The Sharks capitalize on mental breakdowns to take a 1-0 lead in to the second intermission thanks to a Martin Havlat power play goal.
- When the Blues needed to increase their intensity across the board they did not till it was too late and they were down a goal and had already wasted one man advantage opportunity. Case in point would be the Perron and Backes penalties. Both reacted instead of picking the correct time to initiate. Perron cannot turn around and back Burns without expecting one of the two officials to catch him. The same can be said of Backes turing and skating with Pavelski rather than trying to nudge him. Did he not see how Reaves drew an interference call on Jason Demers?
- Speaking of not seeing what is right in front of you... How the other three lines are not feeding off of the play of the 4th line is baffling. Old playoff veterans Langenbrunner and Nichol as well as NHL post season newbie Reaves have been by far Hitchcock's most effective line.
- The equalizer was nearly had late in the period when the Blues finally got rolling on the power play and created many chances that Niemi had to make his best efforts of the night to keep out of the net. Many times this season such a scenario has concluded in a momentum changing goal. If not for Stanley Cup winning netminder in teal and white, there would have been a reproduction.
- Will the Blues come out in the third the way they finished the second. If they want a fighting chance at winning this game they will.
- - -
First Period Quick Hits
In what can best be described as a feeling out period the Blues and Sharks have played to a 0-0 tie after 20 minutes.
- Some early gaffes with the puck exposed some jitters that dissipated as the period went along. A turnover following the opening draw being case in point.
- For as little space as there is, the physical play display that's usually associated with close quarters combat hasn't really followed. Not like in the first period of the Penguins/Flyers game where everyone was out to get a piece of everyone else. Aside from the 4th line, the big hit by Oshie on Murray, and Sobotka, the Blues forwards haven't been finishing off checks nearly as hard as one would expect in this situation.
- Keep an eye on the faceoff win totals and puck management. The Blues have arguably had the better of both which is reflected by the numbers:
* Have won 10 of 17 draws.
* Outshooting San Jose 7 to 4.
* The last Sharks shot came at 14:38 from Dominic Moore.
- I'd expect the pace and physical play to pick up in the second.
- - -
Game Day Preview
Nearly a month has past since the St. Louis Blues were the first team in the NHL to qualify for the playoffs. In the days between then and now there has been enough discussion regarding the first such event in three years around the city that even the most casual of local hockey fans know what’s going on.
If the blue, not red, color of the fountain at Kiener Plaza and the increased presence of local TV media at the Mills doesn’t tell you how much attention is finally being paid to the Blues, not much else will.
That said, until Glenn Miller’s St. Blues March came up on my iPhone heading in to work on the train this morning, “it” hadn’t hit me yet.
Yes, the Blues are in the playoffs and have a legitimate chance at winning a series.
It feels good to be researching strengths and weaknesses of an opposing club rather than draft picks. To share relevant outcome predictions rather than write a post mortem. To ponder how a stop star player may be stopped or who will emerge as one instead of scanning the lists of free agents who might sign for bargain bin prices. Honestly, when the standard April through July activities have carried negative connotations any deviation from the norm is beyond welcomed.
Euphoria is one way to describe it.
Blues players, coaches and front office are in search of the same sensation. The one that makes the heavy silver holy grail feel as light as a feather. Their quest for the Stanley Cup begins tonight. Providing the first challenge are the San Jose Sharks.
Quick Hits
- The last time the Blues won a playoff game was exactly eight years ago today. On April 12th, 2004, St. Louis defeated the San Jose Sharks. Before drawing a quirky connection take in to account that the Blues fell in five games that series. Don’t wish for one part of history to repeat itself if other less desirable events could, too.
- In 2009 Vancouver was able to sweep the Blues thanks in large part to their dominance on special teams. The Canucks buried four power play goals in 18 opportunities (22.2%) and killed off 23 of 24 penalties (95.8%). Even strength play will keep the Blues in games, but their ability to execute up or down a man will likely tip be what tips the scales.
- There are plenty of familiar faces on each side. Sharks depth forwards Michal Handzus and Brad Winchester both spent time in St. Louis. Current Blues role players Kent Huskins and Scott Nichol played for San Jose last season.
News, Notes & Links
- Yesterday’s question of the day was: “If one Blues player ‘comes out of nowhere’ to be a difference maker in the series, who will it be?”
Chris Stewart.
No. 25 grossly underachieved on the stat sheet and on the ice virtually all regular season. He has all the tools to be a series stealer. Hopefully improving his contract leverage is the motivation to be what he once was. Personally, if he keeps up with the pace and intensity of the playoffs, he’ll snap right back in to his former self.
-
Greg Wyshynski ranks the Blues / Sharks series 5th in terms of which series are “must see”. In response to his
Beard-o-sity curiosity, he apparently hasn’t seen the pictures of Kevin Shattenkirk from Movember. Queue the cheesy saxophone music. Yes, you know the one I am talking about.
- It’s always good to know more about who the Blues are playing and understanding their perspective. For a Sharks angle check out this
Sharks series preview video and
this article on the value of experience over on CSNBayArea.com
- Tim McKernan of Fan 590 AM and InsideSTL.com was pushing for
this “song” to be the Blues’ rallying cry for the playoffs on his morning radio show today. I will let everyone else come to their own conclusions, but my chips were thrown in and remain in the Bleed Blue by Brookroyal pile.
- Must Hear Audio:
Ken Hitchcock talks about Brian Elliott and a veteran’s impact in the playoffs.
- Must See Video: The Inglorious One, captain
David Backes, is the focus of a Blues playoff commercial.
Versus San Jose
Alex Pietrangelo has two goals and three assists in the four regular season games. Fellow blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk is the only other player to register more than one goal. TJ Oshie chipped in a goal and two assists as well. Center Patrik Berglund and winger Chris Stewart were held pointless in four games a piece.
Versus St. Louis
Only Ryane Clowe and Torrey Mitchell registered more than one point. Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture were all held pointless in the regular season series.
In Goal
As announced Wednesday, Jaroslav Halak will start in goal for the Blues. He has never faced San Jose in the playoffs. In 21 previous playoff appearances he is 9-10 with a 2.49 GAA and .923 save percentage. Halak concluded his best season in the NHL with a 26-12-7 record, 1.97 GAA, .926 save percentage, and has 6 shutouts in 46 appearances. In two starts against the Sharks this past season he allowed only one goal on 44 shots against.
In goal for Todd McLellan’s Sharks is Antti Niemi. The Finish netminder has never faced the Blues in the playoffs. In 40 career post season games he is 24-15 with a 2.89 GAA, .904 save percentage, and has two shutouts. In 68 regular season appearances he was 34-22-9 with a 2.42 GAA, .915 save percentage, and had 6 shutouts. In three starts versus St. Louis in 2011-12 he allowed just 6 goals on 78 shots against, but lost all three games.
Lineup
According to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Hitchcock’s expected lines and pairings are:
Perron – Backes – Oshie
Steen – Berglund – McDonald
Soboka – Arnott – Stewart
Langenbrunner – Nichol – Reaves
Huskins – Pietrangelo
Jackman – Shattenkirk
Russell- Polak
On the Injury Front
The
SJSharks.com game one preview states that both teams are relatively healthy.
For the Blues Brian Elliott will backup Halak, but remains day to day with an upper body injury.
For the Sharks there are questions around the availability of forwards Torrey Mitchell and Ryane Clowe as well as defenseman Douglass Murray. However, all are expected to play.
What to Watch For
- In the Blues last playoff appearance David Perron and Andy McDonald were two of the top performers. How these two forwards with the highest offensive skill set in the lineup respond this time around is a critical factor to success.
- How the puck movers respond to the pressure brought down upon them on the forecheck. An opportunity to take a chunk out of namely Pietrangelo, Shattenkirk, Dan Boyle, and Brett Burns, but Russel as well, won’t be passed up.
- Which top line center bests the other? Will Thornton or Backes carry their teams on broad shoulders?
- Which goalie stands up and steals the game. Can Halak excel in a situation similar to Montreal’s in 2010, a defense first system with a stout coaching staff? Can the Sharks score as much as Chicago did when Niemi backstopped the Blackhawks journey to a finals victory? Who sees the puck through the trees crashing all around the crease the best likely puts the “W” in their bag.
- If the Sharks are able to take the Scottrade crowd out of the equation. Prolonged raucous reactions have been a font of power that led to the top home record in the NHL. San Jose doesn’t will aim to quell the beast early.
- - -
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the game and Let’s Go Blues!
As always, you’re welcome to follow me on Twitter:
@JTQ_1
St Louis Blues Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»