Jake Allen Gets Win #108 - Ties Grant Fuhr

St. Louis Blues vs Vancouver Canucks - Game 38 Recap
Goals: Berglund (5), Brodziak (6) and Steen (4)
Record 23-13-2

My Thoughts on the Game

• The game started out with Tarasenko taking a one-timer within the first minute of the game. The shot didn't get through, but it was something we hadn't been seeing from our favorite Russian. It gave me the feeling that things were going to be different in this one.
• This was a fast-paced, back-and-forth game pretty much from start to finish. Neither team really settled in for sustained offensive pressure except for a few times throughout the game.
• The Blues penalty kill, which had been outstanding lately, killing off 34 of their last 36 was put to the test early in this one when Sundqvist was whistled for interference just 1:40 into the game. The unit did their thing and only allowed one shot on goal, which Allen stopped. They killed off both penalties in this game and improved to a nearly 95% success rate in December and tied for the league lead in that category this month.
• The Blues created good scoring chances throughout the first period but it was Patrik Berglund who found the net first. The big Swede worked the puck off the boards and circled out front into the high slot on his backhand. He sent the puck towards the net and managed to fool the goaltender for his 5th goal on the season. He must have gotten caught on the ice after the rest of his line changed. He played with Schenn and Tarasenko all night but this goal was assisted by Jaskin and Brodziak.
• For the second game in a row, the pipes were a friend to Jake Allen. Vancouver hit the post twice in one offensive sequence late in the first, but the puck wouldn't go in the net for them.
• The Blues hit the post at least a couple of times as well.  Brodziak rang the bell in the first period and Schenn in the third.
• The 2nd period started in a flurry as Steen got a breakaway early.  He tried to 'dink' the puck in past the goalie after getting him down on the ice, but the 6' 6" Jacob Markstrom sprawled out and was able to cover the post with his right pad to keep it out of the net.
• Vancouver raced back the other way as Steen crashed into the boards and rookie scoring phenom Brock Boeser scored his 20th goal of the season on a backhander from the left dot. Jake got out of position when he thought the shot was coming from the high slot and came out to cut down the angle. Thomas Vanek dished the puck off to Boeser, which left him a wide open net behind Allen to knot the score at 1-1.
• Paul Stastny had a good scoring chance with a breakaway but was denied by Markstrom shortly after the Boeser goal. Vancouver also had another good chance when Pietrangelo gave the puck away inside his own zone, but Allen made a big save to keep the game even.
• Late in the 2nd period, with just 1:30 remaining on the clock, Kyle Brodziak did what the Blues had not been doing enough of in the past few games, put the puck on net. Brodziak was at such an odd angle down near the goal line on the right side but He flicked the puck towards the near post and it somehow managed to find it's way in between Markstrom and the post to put the Blues up 2-1. 
• The Sundqvist-Sobotka-Paajarvi line worked hard tonight.  They had some good scoring chances and it was good to see the effort they put out in this one. It's a step in the right direction for this line.
• Vince Dunn continues to impress me for a first-year NHL defenseman, he has a very bright future. He makes some rookie mistakes but he is solid and handles himself very well for his age.
• Hopefully, Pietrangelo and Dunn are ok. They both left the ice in the third period after blocking shots and/or having skate problems. Petro did finish the game, so he looked to be ok.
• Joel Edmundson was robbed by a Canuck defender late in the third when the goalie was caught out of the net. Eddy got the puck out in front and had a great chance but couldn't get it around the Canuck who was playing a "make-shift" goalie role.
• Immediately after the Edmundson opportunity, Boeser went the other way and had a 2 on 1 rush.  The shot was caught and held by Allen. Allen made another big save on Boeser soon thereafter. 
• Allen stopped 30 of 31 shots on the night and was the game's third star. He picked up win #108 as a Blue, putting him into a tie with Grant Fuhr for 3rd all-time. Allen reached 108 in 58 fewer games played than Fuhr and his stats are slightly better than Fuhr's with a .915 save percentage vs .900 for Fuhr and has allowed 2.40 Goals per game vs 2.68 for Grant. I'm not trying to say Jake is better than Grant Fuhr here, I'm just stating some facts to help shed some proper light on our goalie. He gets a lot of flack from some of the fans when the team isn't winning, but he's playing pretty darn good if you ask me. Curtis Joseph (137) and Mike Liut (151) are all that stand between Jake becoming the all-time winningest Blues goalie. Take a look at this page if you want to see how Allen stacks up to other St. Louis goalies. St. Louis Blues Goalies
• Magnus Paajarvi had a nice chance to score but was stopped by Markstrom as well.
• The scoring was finished off with a Steen empty-netter thanks to a very unselfish play by Vladi Tarasenko.
• I could see significant changes in several aspects of the Blues' game tonight. Defenders in front of the net had their heads on a swivel looking for anyone trying to gain space in front. Players seemed to be helping each other, communicating better, and putting forth more effort for the entire game than it looked like they had in the past few. I felt Vladi put forth a lot more effort tonight and that's good to see. I believe he's been frustrated with the lack of scoring because that's what he's paid to do and is expected to do. But, that frustration seems to have been carrying over into his whole game. Earlier in the year he was digging pucks out of the corners, blocking shots and doing whatever it took to contribute. Tonight I saw more of that from him. I believe it will lead to more goals from him.
• Christmas break is much needed as this team has played 10 games in the past 17 days and despite losing three in a row prior to tonight, the Blues are once again atop the division and in a three-way tie for first in the Western Conference with 48 points. 
• The Nashville Predators come to Scottrade for the second time this season on the 27th. It would be a good one for us to win as Nashville has 3 games in hand over the Blues. They are coming off a loss to Dallas on the 23rd in a shootout and are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games.  They beat the Blues 2-0 in St. Louis on Nov 24th in their only other meeting thus far this season.

#AllTogetherNowStL #LGB