Follow me on twitter Follow @stlgoalie The feast and famine season continued on Saturday for the Blues with a key 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. While the score may have suggested dominance, the shot totals suggested otherwise with the Kings outshooting the Blues 31-29 after two periods even though the Blues led by 3 goals. The goal support for Jake Allen was a rarity over the last couple of months, something Blues fans have been hoping to see for some time.
Much like earlier in the year, the Blues defense keyed the offense with three different Blues defensemen (Robert Bortuzzo, Colton Parayko, and Alex Pietrangelo) scoring the 1st three goals. Jake Allen stopped 41 of 43 shots for the win.
Even with the game well in hand, Jordan Schmaltz only played 14 minutes though coach Yeo did use Schmaltz a lot more in the 3rd period as more than half of his minutes came in the third period. Unfortunately, Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko still logged over 15 minutes of combined ice time in the 3rd period. I would like to see those numbers lower a bit given the lopsided score.
Some quick games notes: - Pietrangelo led the team with 8 shots and was +5. - Vladimir Tarasenko led the forwards with 5 shots. - All Blues forwards had a point but Brayden Schenn and Nikita Soshnikov. - The Blues were not credited with a single takeaway. - Patrik Berglund led all Blues forwards with 19 minutes of ice time.
The Blues will turn their attention to the Anaheim Ducks tonight, looking to keep climbing their way back into a playoff spot.
The Ducks are fighting for their playoff lives, sitting in third place in the Pacific division, just 1 point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings who sit out of the playoffs though the Kings have a game in hand. The Ducks are 19-9-5 at home and are 6-3-1 in their last 10 though they have lost 2 games in a row. At home in 2018, the Ducks have been almost unstoppable, posting a 9-1-2 record.
The Blues and Ducks mirror each other in some ways. The Ducks are ranked 6th in goals against per game while the Blues are 7th. The Ducks are 22nd in goals for per game with the Blues 23rd. Both teams are in the bottom quarter of the league in power play efficiency and the top half of the league in penalty killing.
The Ducks offense has been keyed by Ryan Getzlaf who has 50 points in only 44 games. Getzlaf has 35 points in 38 games against the Blues while Rickard Rakell who leads the team with 30 goals and 59 points has 8 points in 10 games versus the Blues. Unlike Getzlaf, the Blues have been able to do a strong job of containing Corey Perry who only has 20 points in 40 games facing the Blues.
In the Ducks net, Josh Gibson has been very good against the Blues with a 92.5% save percentage and a 2.32 goals against average, numbers that are fairly close to the strong season he is putting together this year.
Much Like Gibson, Jake Allen has been very good against the Ducks posting a 92.4% save percentage and a 1.92 goals against average. None of the Blues skaters has been overly successful against the Ducks with Vladimir Tarasenko being the best with only 9 points in 16 games. Jaden Schwartz has 7 points in 14 games.
The Blues got some much needed help last night with the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames both losing in regulation. A win tonight and with their game in hand would put the Blues above the Flames and the Ducks and give the Kings the inside track of taking over the Ducks, something that would move the Blues two spots closer to a wild card position.
I’m guessing the lines to be the following but they might change
Forwards Jaden Schwartz - Brayden Schenn – Vladimir Tarasenko Alexander Steen - Kyle Brodziak – Patrik Berglund Dmitrij Jaskin - Vladimir Sobotka – Tage Thompson Nikita Soshnikov – Ivan Barbashev – Chris Thorburn
Defense Carl Gunnarsson - Alex Pietrangelo Vince Dunn - Colton Parayko Jordan Schmaltz – Robert Bortuzzo Goalie Jake Allen
It’s a great day for hockey.
Fellow Hockeybuzz bloggers Nashville Predator's Paul McCann, Winnipeg Jet's Peter Tessier and Minnesota Wild's Dan Wallace have generously agreed to a friendly charity wager. We were hoping to do the whole division but don't have it fully represented yet. The blogger whose team finishes the highest the standings at the end of the year gets to pick a charity to whom the others will donate in their name.