Thursday, January 4, 2018

Blues Win 3rd Straight

Vegas Golden Knights vs St. Louis Blues - Game 43 Recap
Goals: Steen (5) and Stastny (8)
Record 26-15-2

My thoughts on this game
  • Carter Hutton got his 3rd straight start in net as Coach Mike Yeo is riding the hot hand. Hutton leads the entire NHL in goals against average AND save percentage.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights made their first trip ever to St. Louis riding an 8 game winning streak. They've broken records for an expansion franchise in any sport with the current streak. You gotta tip your cap to the ownership and coaching staff for what they've accomplished so far. They have positioned themselves as true contenders. 
  • Alexander Steen broke the ice with his fifth goal of the season midway through the first period with a shot that beat Fleury on the short side just under his glove. Berglund created some traffic in front and it was all Steen needed to get the puck past the high-profile goal tender formerly of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Schenn and Parayko assisted on the goal. 
  • Thompson had a great chance to make it 2-0 when he got to the net, but couldn't get the backhander past Fleury. 
  • Stastny and Sobotka had a 2 on 1 early in the 2nd but were also denied by Fleury. The Steen, Stastny and Berglund line had a couple of chances in the first half of the 2nd period as well. 
  • Vegas, who lead the league in come-from-behind wins this season with 12, didn't go away. Haula scored at the 9:23 mark to tie it up at 1-1. He found some open ice in the high slot and his one-timer beat Hutton. 
  • Vegas had another great chance about 6 minutes later when Hutton got caught out of the crease. Vegas couldn't get a stick on the puck as it laid there waiting to be poked in the net. As the Knights scrambled, so did Hutton. He managed to get in the way just enough that the puck redirected and sputtered across the crease, just past the far post. 
  • This was a well-played, fast-paced game by both sides. End to end action was fun to watch. Lots of scoring chances by both teams kept me on the edge of my seat as I watched this one. Both Hutton and Marc Andre Fleury played excellent games in net and kept this one close. 
  • The Blues played a clean game, only taking one penalty midway thru the 3rd. Vegas was only whistled twice. Neither team converted on the power play. The Blues continued their strong play on the penalty kill, and have killed off 48 of the last 52. 
  • The game-winner came at the 5:59 mark of the third period. Parayko shot the puck from the right circle. The rebound came out in front where Stastny directed it back towards the goal. The puck seemed to disappear into the pads of Fleury, but after a second or two it trickled out and laid at the goal post. The only one who saw it was Stastny and he calmly poked it into the net before anyone else could react. 
  • The third period yielded several scoring chances for both teams, but both goalies were on top of their games and got some good support from their teammates. 
  • This was a good win for St. Louis who have now won 3 in a row and will head out to the east coast for back to back games in Philly and DC over the weekend.



#AllTogetherNowStL #LGB

No comments:

Post a Comment

Patrik, Berglund, Bergie! Hat-Trick Leads Blues to 4-1 Win in Chicago

St. Louis Blues vs Chicago Blackhawks - Game 81 Recap Goals: Berglund (15,16,17) and Schwartz (23) Record 44-31-6 My thoughts on this g...