Buffalo Sabres vs St. Louis Blues - Game 31 Recap

Tarasenko's Goal Lifts Blues Over Sabres in Overtime

Goals: Schenn (16), Stastny (7) and Tarasenko (14)
Record 21-8-2

Before I share my thoughts on tonight's game, I'd just like to say thank you to all who have been reading. My blog has gone from a couple dozen people reading at the start of the season to now several hundred. It feels good to be sharing something that people are getting something out of.  

I am just a fan, like most of you. I don't have access to the players or coaches to do interviews, so I keep writing from a fan perspective without any inside information. I don't read other blogs or news stories until I have shared my own thoughts here, so I try to be original.  Sometimes the things that are said during the broadcast stick with me and undoubtedly affect what I share.  I appreciate those guys' insights as they are around the game every day and are much more knowledgeable than me.  

I can't help but wonder who all is reading. Feel free to leave a comment on here or on the Blues Lounge Facebook post that I share after each game. I'd love to see who all is out there reading. Thanks again!

My thoughts on the game

• With Schwartz out for 6 weeks after taking a puck off the ankle in Detroit, and Pietrangelo out and listed as "day to day", the question was, "will the Blues be able to keep scoring without 20% of their offensive production in the lineup?" 
• The Blues answered that question 40 seconds into the game on Brayden Schenn's 16th goal of the season. The goal came as Edmundson took a shot from the left side, the puck went off a Buffalo defender's skate and popped right out in front of Schenn who was skating in from the other side. He poked it home from the bottom of the right circle.
• Because of the injuries, Jaskin was moved up to the first line with Schenn and Steen. Sundqvist was in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the past 4 games. Ivan Barbashev was called up and played tonight as well.  Healthy scratches tonight were Sammy Blais, Pietrangelo and Chris Thorburn.
• Coach Yeo opted for Jake Allen in net, even though it was a back-to-back game. I'd guess there were at least 3 reasons for this decision.
• With Carter Hutton on Injured Reserve and backup goalie being rookie Ville Husso who has never played a game in the NHL, Allen was the better choice.
• Yesterday's game in Detroit was an early game, which gave Jake a little more time to recover and rest.
• Lastly, Jake seems to be really coming into form as of late and it's always smart to stick with a hot goalie.
• Jake had a good game.  He only faced 24 shots and allowed 2 goals for a .916 save percentage, but I can't fault him for either goal.  The first was on a Buffalo power play and the second was late in the game when Buffalo had pulled their goalie and were playing 6 on 5. He may have been a little too aggressive on the shot just prior to the game-tying goal, coming out higher to cut down the angle.  But that shot didn't even get to him and rebounded off someone in front to a player deep in the circle on the left who had a wide open goal to put the puck into.
• Allen is now 8-2-1 in his career when playing in the 2nd of a back-to-back game.
• Paul Stastny scored the Blues' 2nd goal. He was the benefactor of a pair of Tarasenko shots that weren't contained by the Buffalo goalie, 6'4" 245lb Robin Lehner. Tarasenko's first shot was on net, his rebound attempt went just wide but bounced off the boards behind the net. Stastny was close by and was able to sneak the puck past the monstrous Lehner to give the Blues a 2-0 lead with a little less than 4 minutes remaining in the second period.
• If you're a frequent reader of my blog, you know that I don't complain much about things, but tonight's officials seemed to miss some calls that looked fairly obvious. I realize that with the benefit of instant replays and slow-motion, it's easy to sit at home and second guess the refs. To name a few, Oskar Sundqvist was called for tripping in the 2nd period when a Sabre player tripped over his own skates. Schenn was called for a 4 minute penalty for instigating, and although he dropped his gloves first and pushed the other guy, he never threw a punch. He took a couple, though.  One after he was down on the ice. Lastly, Tarasenko had a clear breakaway and drew a hooking penalty but there was no penalty shot given.  I'm not sure what has to happen before a penalty shot can be called.  That was not the first time it seemed warranted this season in my opinion, but yet has not been called.
• I liked the fact that Schenn was twice sticking up for his linemates when he felt like they were the recipients of cheap shots.
• Tarasenko had a tough time getting the puck to the net early, but finished the game strong with several quality chances and shots on net. I was thrilled that he broke out and scored the game winner in overtime.
• Goalie Lehner's strength was definitely not handling the puck as he actually pulled Vladi's game winning goal into the net with his own stick as he tried to stop the shot.
• Although Buffalo had the worst record in the NHL, they still gave the Blues a game.  We outshot them 45-24, yet it still took overtime to beat them. 
• Coming into this game the Blues penalty kill had shut the door on 16 straight chances and ran that streak to 20 before Buffalo scored their first goal at 1:42 of the third period.
• The power play, on the other hand was 0 for 3 again tonight and continues to struggle. Thank goodness we have done so well in 5 on 5.
• Next up is Tampa Bay who leads the Eastern Conference with a 21-6-2 record. They've won 4 in a row and defeated the Blues by a score of 2-1 in Tampa Oct 14th. They are led by Steven Stamkos who has 12 goals and 30 assists for 42 pts, and linemate Nikita Kucherov with 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 pts. Many of their points come on the power play and their +/- scores, which are based mostly on even-strength scoring, are much lower than the league-leaders in St. Louis of Schenn and Schwartz. 
• Tampa's key to the game will be to score on the power play.  St. Louis will need to stay out of the penalty box and right the ship on their own power play.

#AllTogetherNowStL #LGB