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Blues 4-2 Loss to Bolts Raises Question Regarding Depth |
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It seems as if the St. Louis Blues' ability to not lose in regulation is tied inexplicably to Alexander Steen's ability to score goals.
Saturday night in Tampa Bay the Lightning held the league's leading goal scorer off the scoresheet and in turn gave the Blues only their second loss in regulation in 12 games by a score of 4-2. The only two games Steen has failed to put the puck in the net.
Failure did not come from a lack of opportunity. St. Louis put 30 shots towards their former netminder Ben Bishop. His long legs and bulky frame covered the lower half of the net so easily that many would be goals against others simply didn't end up behind the goalie. The league's best power play had three chances to tip the scales and Bishop answered every time.
The times they were able to convert they did not come from a typical setup.
Alex Pietrangelo opened scoring in the first period with a seeing eye shot through multiple layers of screens that ended up in the net. Being his fourth goal in as many games it's not surprising that he contributed, but that it was such a busted, fluky play.
Jaden Schwartz tied the game at 2-2 on a play straight out of the Chicago Blackhawks playbook. Kevin Shattenkrik threw up a sift lob to clear the zone as Schwartz pressed the puck retrieving defender. He was able to gain possession and rifle the shot over Bishop for his third of the season. Try as they might, many teams execute that play with the a goal being the outcome. Schwartz deserves credit for the finish, but it's an odd scenario none the less.
It's not that the Blues look for pretty goals. Usually their scores come off quick, clean transition and possession in the offensive zone. These were clunky bang bang-ers.
It's a testament to how well Tampa matched the Blues at even strength. Not an easy task for any club. Especially for the Lightning considering they've not faired well against high possession teams this season.
Not have the Blues faired well against clubs at or above the .500 mark. They're now 2-2-1 in those contests. Considering that record is against Chicago (the two wins), San Jose, and Vancouver besides Tampa that's respectable at this point of the season. They'll take 50% of the points possible against similar clubs and dominate weaker opponents between now and April. That will get them in to the playoffs and in a decent enough position they should be poised for a deep run.
Reviewing personnel deployment raises some interesting questions and thoughts.
Here are the numbers for the percentage of team even strength time on ice played per select player.
Name - Season - Game 12
Pietrangelo - 41% - 45%
Bouwmeester - 39% - 44%
Steen - 33% - 37%
Backes - 33% - 35%
Oshie - 32% - 33%
Berglund - 26% - 31%
Schwartz - 26% - 30%
Tarasenko - 24% - 26%
The first thing that jumps out is that all saw increases. As the most skilled offensive producers they would and should be relied upon to take more shifts when trailing. Considering they didn't equalize the score blame for the outcome will be affixed somewhere.
Certainly the lack of conversion on the man advantage is to blame. As is Jaroslav Halak, who made 21 saves on 25 shots. That said, the point of a hockey game is to score more than the opponent. With St. Louis sitting at the top of multiple offensive leaderboards not finishing more chances points the finger in their direction.
Although the Backes line was on the ice for Pietrangelo's goal they did not produce as much as they have throughout their hot streak dating back to their last regulation loss. Further, they were out done by Steven Stamkos' line. Alex Killorn produced Tampa's first goal and Stamkos had the second himself.
This is where the Blues depth can tilt the balance. It seemingly did, with Schwartz's goal, till late in the third period when Brett Connolly and Valtteri Filppula gave the home team the lead. It was Tampa's depth, not St. Louis', the decided the final score.
For all those calling for the secondary lines to get more ice time, the author of this post included, your wish was granted. Berglund's line saw a significant increase in critical ES minutes and they made it count. It wasn't enough though. The trio dominated from a Corsi perspective. A combined 51 Corsi For vs. 29 Corsi Against (64% CF%). They had their chances and could only get one to go in.
Shame on them or shame on someone else?
Few would question Ken Hitchcock's logic of running the top line over the boards as often as he could. They've been the cornerstone of a team that earned over 80% of the points possible coming in to Saturday's action. Live and die by your best players. Did Hitch go down with them tonight?
Even a thoroughbred can only run for so long. It needs down time to recharge. As well conditioned as Backes, Steen, and Oshie are they need rest. Further, the Blues have built one of the deepest groups of forwards in the league not only to survive injuries, but provide balanced scoring game to game. With the Backes line being outchanced 33 CF to 42 CA (44% CF%) it would make sense to get fresher legs on the ice. The Derek Roy , Chris Stewart, and Vladimir Sobokta line has been a consistent producer of the last few games. Their percentage of the teams ES time flatlined or went down in the case of Roy.
Why not utilize one of the best skaters on the club who happens to be "the playmaker" signed to aid the power forward expected to do most of the scoring more? It's a question not likely to get an answer, but it's one Blues fans and observers should ponder.
Depth is a great thing to have so long as it used to its full potential in as many scenarios as possible.
Thanks for reading!
St Louis Blues Blogger • 
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