The St. Louis Blues made quite a living this season - 48 wins, 109 points, and a Central Division title - off of painstaking attention to detail. Get pucks deep, backcheck hard, block shots, smart passes... all the cliche sayings heard during an intermission interview about how to win the game or get back into it.
In the first game of their second round matchup against the LA Kings the Blues drifted to a 3-1 loss.
David Backes opened the scoring with his second goal of the playoffs. Originally his linemate, David Perron, was attributed with the deflection and goal, but further reviewed showed the captain executing the peferfect screen of Jonathan Quick and tip of Alex Pietrangelo’s shot.
In the elation of generally controlling play and jumping out to an early lead the first of two critical breakdowns foreshadowed the ending.
Defenseman Barret Jackman turned into double coverage pressure from Dustin Penner and MIke Richards. The resulting turnover exposed the backdoor to weakside pressure from Slava Voynov. In the scramble to cover lanes Andy McDonald lost Voynov who bolted down from the point and tapped in a beauty of a pass from Penner deep in the corner.
Jackman deserves fair share of the blame for turning to the boards rather than continuing around behind the net. His decision making with the puck has improved in the Ken Hitchcock era, but he is still subject to making the wrong decision when pressured without support. That said, McDonald simply must be stronger covering the slot and recognizing the situation. If the puck does somehow end up back in the Blues’ possession, the area too overloaded for a quick counter. This allows Voynov to take a calculated risk and jump in the play. If he misses the pass, no one will get to the puck before his partner or netminder.
McDonald earned the high praise for his play in the San Jose series. In this game, he earned the opposite.
On the faceoff following the 2 minute minor for boarding assessed to Kings winger Dwight King - I’ll get back to that in a little bit - the Blues mental resistance was checked and came up short of meeting needs. Rattled was the response.
As Backes was tied up on the draw Kevin Shattenkirk needed to maintain his position at the top of the circle to collect the puck if is squirted out in his direction. Instead he jumped in, with no support behind him, to root around at the bottom of the scrum. Of course the rubber came right to where he was supposed to be. With open ice in front of him, Kings captain Dustin Brown bolted north and pushed right in to Brian Elliott’s house as if he owned it. Elliott turned away the initial attempt the surely Matt Greene darted up ice as fast as his his legs could carry him. Though he is not very mobile, he did beat Backes back down the ice. Not all that difficult when he coasting rather than skating.
A myriad of third period penalties between the 3:42 and 12:29 marks consumed a total of eight minutes of precious time needed to find the equalizing goal. Valid complaints about the officiating withstanding, the calls made were because of the Blues’ inability to “play the game in front of them” as Brian Engblom and Dave Strader put it on the telecast.
For those who have followed the team this isn’t a new concept. When good teams push back hard or a particular event results in a perceived bad call or injury, they struggle to respond correctly. The reset button that has been used so often since November to move on from game to game has not been as effective in a game.
Elliott and Quick were as good as advertised. The two combined to stop 54 of 57 shots faced, a .947 save percentage. To the Kings delight and the Blues dismay, Quick was the stronger of the two. His first period performance was outstanding. McDonald and BJ Crombeen were left brooding in the wake of sprawling athletic saves. There may be no netminder in the NHL who is so agile and and lightning fast moving laterally.
If game one should leave behind anything, it's that all the pre-series analysis was correct. These two are so closely matched on the smallest differences appear. Special teams and attention to detail will determine who moves on to the conference finals. So far the Blues are behind in both areas.
King Hit Reaction
Just when you think the first round trend of questionable decisions involving player safety and supplemental discipline wouldn’t carry over...
Dwight King recklessly boarded Alex Pietrangelo.
Not the worst hit of the postseason, but far from the most legal. As
I wrote on BluenoteZone.com Sunday afternoon, this hit was not a hockey play. King could have easily stayed with Pietrnagelo to the boards and tied him up with Jordan Nolan working to out muscle Kris Russell for position to retrieve the puck - or - turned as Pietrangelo turned to go shoulder to shoulder to separate the man from the puck correctly. King made a conscious decision to put his forearm in the defenders numbers and push him into the boards.
An embellishment claims can be cleared by the fact that Pietrangelo went off the ice on his own power and did not stay down for a protracted period waiting for Ray Barile to come out.
My Kings counterpart here on Hockeybuzz, Matthew Barry, asserted in the comments of
his game recap post that hits just happen in hockey and sometimes players get hurt. While very true, the situation King was in and the decision he made takes that ideal and throws it out the window.
I’m not going to stand here and argue for a max suspension. Nor should anyone else. A harsh punishment isn’t warranted when this play was not as violent as the “hit” Chris Stewart put on Niklas Kronwall. However, the risk taken and end result dictates some sort of supplemental discipline. Whether that’s one game or two spent in the press box. Still,
based on reports, it doesn’t appear any will be handed down. Surprised? Not really.
Conspiracy theory? Hardly. Cynical? You bet.
I’ve been asked when/if/how the Blues will seek retribution. Given their collective response to the Joe Thornton hit on David Perron in November 2010, I doubt there will be much eye for an eye, revenge inspired antics. Their style, at least under Hitchcock, is about winning games to settling scores. No matter how old.
That type of revenge may float some boats, by my harbor is dry in that regard.
Encouraging the injury of one player because of another’s is something I do not condone. Nor do I relish and enjoy seeing an opposing player injured. No matter the circumstance. every NHL player is a human. Someone with friends and a family. Hopefully Pietrangelo’s family is picking up prayers like those effected by the tent collapse outside Busch Stadium Saturday. I’m with you right there, Matt.
Pietrangelo Update
The Blues held practice today and Pietrangelo was absent. Two took his place with Carlo Colaiacovo, Kent Huskins and Ian Cole. After practiced multiple scenarios were outlined for Monday’s pairings as Pietrangelo was declared “day to day” with an upper body injury.
- Pietrangelo plays and six defensemen are dressed. Hitch said, "But just don't be writing him off yet."
- Cole replaces Pietrangelo and six defensemen are dressed.
- Huskins and Cole both play as seven defensemen and 11 forwards are dressed.
The calls for Cole to see some game action have been answered. Albeit not in the way desired. He’s had strong performances in limited NHL appearances this season. He has one goal, six points, a Plus-7 rating while averaging 15:55 played over 26 games. Keep an eye on how much he plays at even strength in relation to penalty minutes. The Notre Dame standout has had difficulty removing frivolous penalties from his repertoire.
This may be the biggest opportunity Cole has had in his short time as a pro to prove he can play effective minutes in the big show. How well he does could greatly impact team building plans for 2012-13 as the Blues are likely searching for another top four quality left handed defenseman. Recall that he was drafted in 2007. Just four picks after Colorado took Shattenkirk. He has the tools and his own teammate has proven that kids from that class can graduate to the next level. Time to see if he will take advantage and move on.
Can the Blues win games without Pietrangelo? We might find out real soon. We're also going to see what Shattenkirk is truly made out of. He's been very good, but hasn't had the assignments Pietrangelo has. Big opportunity for him as well.
NCAA products... rise and shine.
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Thanks for reading.
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