There are games in which the offense wins the game for the Blues, there are games in which the offense loses the game for the Blues. Tonight, Brian Elliott won the game for the Blues.

Stopp 40-of-41 shots on goal, Brian Elliott was superb in this game, which included one of the best glove saves you'll see this season. Elliott faced 20 shots in the third period alone, and the lone goal came off a carom off the boards and Nick Bjugstad scored at a near impossible angle.

Jaden Schwartz scored his 20th goal of the season today, beating Roberto Luongo in the second period, with a very impressive shot. Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko registered assists on Schwartz's goal.

Now Schwartz joins Tarasenko as the only two players on the roster with 20 or more goals. They'll be joined shortly by Alexander Steen and David Backes, both of which have 19 goals on the season. T.J. Oshie will likely reach that mark as well by the end of the season. He's currently sitting at 15 goals this year.

Barret Jackman tied Brian Sutter today, playing in his 792nd game in a St. Louis Blues uniform, now sitting behind the hall-of-fame forward, Bernie Federko. It's highly unlikely Jackman reaches Federko's number of games though, who sits at 927 games played.

The Blues have now improved to 17-4-2 against eastern conference teams this season, and improve to 37-15-4 on the season.



Explaining My Disdain For Joakim Lindstrom

Now let me make this clear, I do not hate Joakim Lindstrom. I talked to him a few times during pre-season, and he's a really nice guy. He's the kind of guy who shuts up, puts his head down, and just does what he needs to do for his team... Off the ice.

On the ice, is where we find my issues with him. He wasn't going to come in and become a top six guy. Was never going to happen. The man has skill, and it shows with his back-to-back MVP voting in the Swedish Elite League with Skelleftea.

The problem? He's not fast enough, he's a liability defensively, he's nonexistent physically, and he doesn't have the hockey IQ to think the game at a fast enough level in the NHL. He has offense, but he can't get to the areas to score goals in the NHL, due to the reasons stated above.

Joakim Lindstrom adds nothing to this team that they could have by playing Magnus Paajarvi, Ty Rattie, or Phil McRae. As a matter of fact, all three of those players provide more than what Lindstrom provides to the Blues.

It was an experiment. If Lindstrom's offense could have translated to the NHL, signing him for 700k for one season would have been a steal. The problem is, it didn't, and he doesn't add anything else worthy of him staying in the line up.

So no, he didn't kick my dog, he didn't do anything to me personally. That's why as a person, I respect him. As a hockey player, he doesn't belong in the NHL. If he does, it will be on a bottom feeder who can give him top six ice time in hoping the offense shows up. The problem is, he's 31 years old. He's moving past the prime of his career, and he'll be headed back to Sweden next season.

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