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Blues/Flames Recap: Reaves makes like Twist |
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My 3 Stars of the Game
1. Ryan Reaves. 'Nuff said.
2. Andy McDonald. 1 goal, and I thought he had pretty good jump most of the night.
3. Chris Stewart. 2 assists.
I looked at Cracknell (also 2 assists), Steen (1 goal, 1 assist) and Elliott for the 3rd start - but ultimately went with Stewart (though I thought he didn't have a fantastic night). Cracknell was terrible in the faceoff circle (0/6), Steen had a major gaffe on the Calgary goal by failing to hustle back, and Elliott was good but not great in my opinion - you could point to about 4 plays where he looked less than stellar.
***
The night by Reaves? It was shades of January 27, 1996 when Tony Twist - who had more fights in the season to date (6) than NHL goals in his career to date (4) erupted for a pair of goals in a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay at home. Kiel Center was electric after the 2nd goal, and Twist logged time on the 1st line with Brett Hull as the Blues looked to get him a 3rd goal on the day. The only thing missing? A fight, which Twist wasn't afraid to do - and other players in the league knew it.
Tim Jackman. What. A. Dumbass. Could it have been any more evident what he wanted to do from the moment he jumped off the bench? First a slash on Reaves trying to get something started, then he tries to get his stick up on Reaves, and when the zone gets cleared Jackman has to retreat - but he then immediately zeroes in on Reaves again, only to get inadvertently knocked down by Porter before getting up and dropping the gloves to start swinging away. It was a textbook instigator penalty - and is exactly why I have no problem with that being in the rulebook. If Porter doesn't run into Jackman, there's a chance that ends up being more ugly because Jackman was targeting Reaves the entire shift.
It was also a textbook beating by Reaves - and I approve of that.
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After last night's debacle at the faceoff dot, Cracknell is now only 6-18 on the season there. Considering that Porter is only 40% and Reaves is the guy you use there in desperation, if there's a complaint about that trio it's that they struggle to win faceoffs. Of course, if you can throw them out on a line change and not to start play, you can get around that - and then, you've got Sobotka (56%) or Backes (52%) or, if you want to roll the dice on a roster move, Nichol (60%).
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With the win, the Blues moved into 4th in the West. A win tomorrow means they'll get the winner of tomorrow night's Kings-Sharks series, while the loser goes to 6th to play Vancouver. Since the Blues are playing for home-ice advantage, I'd expect Elliott to go in net yet again - but, it begs the question: do you play Halak to see how he's doing? To throw gas on the fire: if he plays well, do you go with Halak to start the playoffs - or do you stick with Elliott> By all accounts, the Hawks are going to go with their 'B' team - down to having Carter Hutton start in net.
T.J. Oshie will almost certainly not be in the lineup tomorrow, but signs point to him being ready for Game 1. The same with Barret Jackman, who missed last night's game. Unknown is whether the Blues will sit any other regulars - but I suspect part of that decision will be based on who the Blackhawks actually bring to town.
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The action of the night will be in Minnesota, where the Wild will try to clinch a playoff spot against Edmonton. The task is pretty simple: win and get in - and the Wild have 2 chances to do it. If they blow tonight, they've got tomorrow at Colorado. Blow that, and Detroit is guaranteed to get in - and things start to get really interesting.
In the East, it's all about positioning. Pittsburgh is locked into 1st, Washington is locked into 3rd, and Montreal and Boston are guaranteed home ice in the 1st round.
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How would I play tomorrow night? As noted above, it depends on who Chicago plays - but I think I'd start with something like the following:
Steen - Backes - Stewart
McDonald - Sobotka - Perron
Jaskin - Schwartz - Tarasenko
Cracknell - Porter - Reaves
Bouwmeester - Pietrangelo
Leopold - Shattenkirk
Russell - Polak
Yeah, that's right - I'd sit Berglund in the box with a message: "keep half-assing it, and you'll be getting really familiar with this place." I'd say, "I'd try to find a way to get Cole in there" but at this point, I figure he's pretty much trade bait waiting to get dealt in the offseason and the Blues are perfectly content to let him sit.
What do you do when the playoffs start? Check back after tomorrow night's game, when we see who we're paired up against and who's available.
St Louis Blues Blogger • 
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